NOMINATION OF HISTORIC BUILDING, STRUCTURE, SITE, OR OBJECT PHILADELPHIA REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

PHILADELPHIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION SUBMIT ALL ATTACHED MATERIALS ON PAPER AND IN ELECTRONIC FORM (CD, EMAIL, FLASH DRIVE)

ELECTRONIC FILES MUST BE WORD OR WORD COMPATIBLE

1. ADDRESS OF HISTORIC RESOURCE (must comply with an Office of Property Assessment address)

Street address:__________________________________________________________________

Postal code:_______________ Councilmanic District:__________________________

2. NAME OF HISTORIC RESOURCE

Historic Name:__________________________________________________________________

Current/Common Name:___________________________________________________________

3. TYPE OF HISTORIC RESOURCE

Building Structure Site Object

4. PROPERTY INFORMATION

Occupancy: occupied vacant under construction unknown

Current use:____________________________________________________________________

5. BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION

See attached.

6. DESCRIPTION

See attached.

7. SIGNIFICANCE

Please attach the Statement of Significance.

Period of Significance (from year to year): from _________ to _________

Date(s) of construction and/or alteration:______________________________________________

Architect, engineer, and/or designer:_________________________________________________

Builder, contractor, and/or artisan:___________________________________________________

Original owner:__________________________________________________________________

Other significant persons:__________________________________________________________

1156-62 S Broad Street

2nd 19146

Roman Catholic Church of St. Rita of Cascia

National Shrine; St. Rita of Cascia

Active worship site

present 1900

1907-08

George I. Lovatt, AIA

Melody & Keating

Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Archbishop Patrick J. Ryan, George I. Lovatt, St. Rita of Cascia

CRITERIA FOR DESIGNATION:

The historic resource satisfies the following criteria for designation (check all that apply): (a) Has significant character, interest or value as part of the development, heritage or culturalcharacteristics of the City, Commonwealth or Nation or is associated with the life of a personsignificant in the past; or,(b) Is associated with an event of importance to the history of the City, Commonwealth or Nation;or,(c) Reflects the environment in an era characterized by a distinctive architectural style; or,(d) Embodies distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style or engineering specimen; or,(e) Is the work of a designer, architect, landscape architect or designer, or engineer whose workhas significantly influenced the historical, architectural, economic, social, or cultural development ofthe City, Commonwealth or Nation; or,(f) Contains elements of design, detail, materials or craftsmanship which represent a significantinnovation; or,(g) Is part of or related to a square, park or other distinctive area which should be preservedaccording to an historic, cultural or architectural motif; or,(h) Owing to its unique location or singular physical characteristic, represents an established andfamiliar visual feature of the neighborhood, community or City; or,(i) Has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in pre-history or history; or(j) Exemplifies the cultural, political, economic, social or historical heritage of the community.

8. MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES

See attached.

9. NOMINATOR

Organization______________________________________Date________________________________

Name with Title__________________________________ Email________________________________

Street Address____________________________________Telephone____________________________

City, State, and Postal Code______________________________________________________________

Nominator is is not the property owner.

PHC USE ONLY

Date of Receipt:_______________________________________________________________________

Correct-Complete Incorrect-Incomplete Date:_________________________________

Date of Notice Issuance:_________________________________________________________________

Property Owner at Time of Notice

Name:_________________________________________________________________________

Address:_______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

City:_______________________________________ State:____ Postal Code:_________

Date(s) Reviewed by the Committee on Historic Designation:____________________________________

Date(s) Reviewed by the Historical Commission:______________________________________________

Date of Final Action:__________________________________________________________

Designated Rejected 3/12/18

1234 South Sheridan Street 215-334-6008

Celeste A. Morello, MS, MA

Philadelphia, PA 19147

7/6/2018

9/10/2018

9/14/2018

Archbishop of Philadelphia

227 N 17th

St

19103 PA Philadelphia

7/6/2018

X

12/12/2018

1/11/20191/11/2019, Criteria D & H

Not designated under Criterion A

XCHD and HC found that the property satisfied Criterion H

- 3 -

5. Boundary:

St. Rita’s Roman Catholic Church occupies 1156-62 S Broad Street. The boundary is as follows:

Beginning at a point 88 feet southwardly from the southwestern corner of S. Broad Street and

Ellsworth Street, containing in front or breadth along S. Broad Street approximately 90.8 feet,

thence extending westwardly between right angles approximately 178 feet to S. Carlisle Street;

and containing in front or breadth approximately 90.8 feet along S. Carlisle Street.

Being OPA Account #: 773058020

Image source: City of Philadelphia, CityGeo.

View from S. Broad Street.

East elevation along S. Broad Street.

East and north elevations, from S. Broad Street.

North elevation from Ellsworth Street.

North and west elevations, from S. Carlisle Street.

Detail of west elevation, from S. Carlisle Street.

1931 photograph of St. Rita’s, looking northwest up Broad Street. Source: Philadelphia Department of

Records.

1962 photograph of St. Rita’s entrance. Source: Philadelphia Department of Records.

1971 photograph of St. Rita’s. Source: Philadelphia Historical Commission

.,~SYLVANIA HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY FORM FICE OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION Box 1026

'A HISTORICAL. & MUSEUM COMMISSION H•rrlsburg, PA 17120.

d. proP•rtv owners nama and eddreu

Rev. Dennis 1720 Swmner Phila., PA

J. Dougherty, Street 19103

in trust

7. Local survey organization· - ~

9. tax parcel num~ I oth111r numba

365001000

11. status { othar surveys, lli:rts etc.)

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• le9;6~-1919 Roman Baroque 16. architect or englnoer 17. contractor or builder JS, primary building mat./constructio

George Lovatt

23. sita. Plan with north arrow

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Brick, terracotta, and limestone

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St. Rita's Church's listing on the National Register.

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\ St. Rita's is a brilliant hommage to Rome--in the midst of the South Philadelphia ' 1 Roman Catholic community. Its facade is organized in the manner of the Roman \ Baroque triumphal arch, with a central pedimented entrance portico carried on

1 paired Tuscan columns, engaged to a flat, light brick and terracotta wall, \ accented by deep niches, containing figures of saints. Above the first floor I entablature, which is set at the height of the aisles, is a second story; \ flanked by gigantic volutes and articulated by paired pilasters which carry \ an immense segmental pediment, and framing a large stained glass window,.

1 The clerestory is clad in copper.

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-6-

Description:

Architect George I. Lovatt's design of St. Rita's Church

generally follows the plans first submitted in February of 1907

and finalized by October of that year. The attached copies of

Lovatt's drawings guide to the description for the facade, north

(exposed) side and west (rear) side. (See pages 12 to 14 herein.)

Materials:

Lovatt's design called for color contrasts, a variety of tex­

tures and a remarkable use of terracotta for decorative and struc­

tural purposes. Architectural historian Bruce Laverty said that

terracotta is "stronger than brick because it is fired longer than

brick," the latter which is used minimally. St. Rita's facade pre­

sents these terracotta elements:

1) an eschutcheon with the papal mitre flanked with volutes

in the center, uppermost part of the pediment shaped as a

2) lunette, rimmed with egg & dart and dentil moldings upon

3) the cornice spanning above the entablature above

4) two(2) engaged Ionic columns on either side of the

5) (terracotta) framed stained-glass window surrounded by a

6) Roman arch with keystone;

7) large Baroque volutes buttress the second level facade

above the lower

8) pedimented central entrance where the entablature holds a

tableau of triglyphs, with

9) medallions between and above the Tuscan columns.

10) ten(19)horizontal blocks, stacked as quoins at the entrance

level at either side of the two (2) niches.

11) The first level's niches are surrounded by lunette-sha~ed

pediments, holding statues of St. Augustine (south) and St.

Patrick (north). 1

12) a shallow canopy over the portal is suspended by scroll

1st. Augustine (354-430) is a Doctor of the Roman Catholic Church whose writings are the basis for the Augustinian Order's Rules. St. Patrick (389?-461?), the patron saint of Ireland is honored because the Irish Provincial of the Order set upon Philadelphia as the Order's North American foundation.

-7-

brackets approximately 15 feet from the portal's landing.

Lovatt's contractors, Melody and Keating2also used limestone,

granite, slate, some brick and "Conshohocken or Chester Creek stone"

set in mortar, copper siding and copper trim. (Refer to plans.)

St. Rita's Church's FACADE is a wonderful play of geometric

shapes incorporated into the Roman Baroque. The rectangular up­

ward shape of the central bay has pairs of pilasters on the second

level above the Tuscan columns below alongside a tall portal, the

sole entry into the upper church. While this verticality is em­

phasized with these elements, the building set upon the high base

15 steps above street level places a horizontal, linear component

below the horizontally-cut terracotta on the first level flanking

the portal and emitting from the niches on either side of the en­

trance. Atop the side bays and attached to the narrow second level

are two circular volutes, very large with swirls. These ·rounded

shapes balance the oculus in the center, set into a lunette

pediment and above an entablature where below that, is a Roman-arched

framed stained glass window with a keystone. The first level's

use of rounded fiqures below the volutes is at the niches holding

statues of the saints. There are also small medallion-like shapes

between the Tuscan columns set between triglyphs that run under the

broad entablature. All of these shapes are monochromed, in a cream

coordinating color with the statues. Under both niches in black

Roman capital letters is a recent addition: "NATIONAL SHRINE SAINT

RITA OF CASCIA." Inscribed on the granite block below the cornice

at the northeast corner of this facade are two Greek crosses on

either side of "1907" and below this: "Memorial to Lucas E. Burke

Pray for the repose of his soul.''

2cursory information on this building firm in Philadelphia is noted in the Philadelphia Architects and Buildings site which has it active from c. 1895 to 1919 and "involved in several of the largest church constructions of the early twentieth century."

-8-

The NORTH side of St. Rita's Church reveals the clerestory

stained glass windows at the second level, independent from the

first level and apart from the widest space. This side is very

different from the facade and Lovatt negotiated the transition

by wrapping the facade's layered terracotta blocks westerly to

the north and south walls. At the ground level on both sides are

entranceways to access the basement shrine or upper church. Also

at this level, eight (8) plain windows run along the wall and pro­

vide ventilation to a deep, approximately 12 foot deep basement

with the saint's (and other saints') relics, chapel and other ac­

commodations for visitors.

The north, exposed wall, as planned by Lovatt, is distinctive

for the dark "Conshohocken or Chester Creek stone" which is dressed

and set in mortar at the first floor level. Another contrasting

color is the second level's copper sheathing.

Lovatt's side view of this wall from the exterior indicates

the vestibule, as the depth of the terracotta blocks, the nave's

length and sanctuary within the apse. This wall also has an "arm';

the transept extending beyond the width of the facade. This tran­

sept is of the dark stone and at the second floor level has an

oculus with four (perhaps limestone) light-colored voussoirs at

the directional points above two squarish windows. Attached to

the transept is another structure with a ground level entrance.

This structure is best understood from Lovatt's "sanctuary" ;,lan

(and the recent image) originally intended for the clergy to pre­

pare for services at the northern section and the altar boys' room

at the southern end with the apse between.

Conforming to the basilican plan, this semi-circular area

surrounds the altar, the sanctuary for holy objects. Copper is

on the exterior and there seemed no modifications from the Lovatt

-9-

design which includes the course of windows within the copper

atop the dark stone . This part of the church building extends

to the pavement by South Carlisle Street and the lower height of

the structure around the apse justifies the two stairs drawn by

Lovatt to the separate dressing rooms in the inside .

Westward orientation of St. Rita ' s Church on

South Broad Street.

(Source: Google Maps.)

Carlisle Street view of church's west side.

North side.

Southward, from Ellsworth Street

-

(Source: Google Maps.)

-11 -

Westward aerial of St. Rita's Roman Catholic Church

'- Carlisle Street

-Ellsworth Street

,........-Broad Street

Not unique to this church, the cruciform plan created by the

roof on the second level is coated with the whitish material

while the first level's roof remains obscured.

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st. Rita's Church's 1907 plans,

by George r. Lovatt, AIA.

(Three(3) drawings)

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-15-

Statement of Significance:

When architect George I. Lovatt's plans for a church were

approved in 1907, there were only a few examples of the Ba-

roque in Philadelphia. Named after a recently canonized saint,

Rita of Cascia (Italy), Lovatt's design was adapted from the first

Baroque churches in Rome as an architectural style associated with

the Roman Catholic Church and its response to religious dissenters

during the Counter Reformation. St. Rita's Church is derived from

the Catholic churches constructed from the mid-1500s through the

seventeenth century in Rome, where the style flourished.

St. Rita's Church was administratively given to the Augustin­

ian clergy by Archbishop Patrick J. Ryan, prelate of the Archdio­

cese and remains with this religious order that made Philadelphia

its base in North America in the 1790s. The first priests in the

Order of st. Augustine had arrived from Ireland, and continued

their mission here as abroad with a focus on ministry and education.

Through the bequeathed gift of public accountant Lucas E. Burke}

this church was built, facing South Broad Street as this part of

the city was developing towards the terminus at the Navy Yard.

George I. Lovatt's design for st. Rita's was his first in ap­

plying the Roman Baroque, modeled similarly to Il Gesu in Rome.

Lovatt's success with st. Rita's began an extensive list of eccles­

iastical architecture demonstrating his flexibility with not only

this Roman Baroque, but with Gothic churches, such as the Church

of the Holy Child (now, Our Lady of Hope) which drew international

acclaim later. Lovatt would become one of the most active archi­

tects in the early twentieth century as the city's population in

creased and more parishes were founded in

St. Rita's Church became a shrine in

the archdiocese. 4

recent decades as her

popularity spread with some miracles attributed to her intercession.

Rita Mancini (1377-1447) had lived in Umbria with her husband and

3 Mr. Burke died in 1886 but his Will was not probated until 1903. Archbishop Ryan determined to use Burke's bequeathment by 1906; Lovatt was then hired in 1907.

4 Refer to September 24, 1996 letter by Rev. DiGregorio, OSA attached.

- -- -- ----- -------------------------------- ---- ----- --

-17-

St. Rita's Roman Catholic Church •••

(a} Has significant character, interest or value as part of the development, heritage or cultural characteristics of the City, Commonwealth or Nation or is associated with the life of a person significant in the past.

Although the National Register report noted that St. Rita's

Church building is "The most monumental, and elegant of South

Broad Street," the circu;astances and individuals responsible for

this church have significance beyond the trite contemporary accounts.

My findings have placed initial importance on Lucas E. Burke, Arch­

bishop Patrick J. Ryan and architect George I. Lovatt,sr.

In the history of the Roman Catholic Church in Philadelphia,

there are few instances where private funding for the construction

of churches are noted. And until the hiring of architect Edwin F.

Durang ( 1826-1911) by the Archdiocese under Archbishop Patrick J.

Ryan (1831-1911) ecclesiastical architecture was not distinctive

nor a specialized field. st. Rita's history contributes to these

issues.

Roman Catholic churches in Philadelphia are subject to the

authority of the bishop or archbishop appointed to oversee the

diocese/archdiocese and all bureaucratic functions. The bishop or

archbishop then determines if and when a church is to be built to

serve a congregation who would support it financially. Mr. Lucas

E. Burke (d.1886) was a local public accountant. As a single man,

his only family was a dependent sister, Sarah, who not only inher­

ited Lucas' estate, but was his last living heir to dispose of his

rather detailed gifts, mainly for "the erection of a Catholic church

as a memorial" and to "many designated Catholic charitable institu­

tions." 6

Until 1906, Mr. Burke's estate was held in trust until the

archbishop, Patrick J. Ryan decided to use it to build St. Rita's.

6city of Philadelphia, Register of Wills, "Burke's Estate," Opinion decided February 10, 1903. Lucas' sister and only living heir, Sarah, died in 1891 and all disbursements of the estate held until 1903.

-18-

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia first made the Burke gift

to build a Catholic church a part of its official history in Ca­

tholicity in Philadelphia (1911 ),7 but the selection of the Augus­

tinians as the caretakers of St. Rita's was not fully discussed.

Juliani's research at the Augustinian Archives at Villanova Uni­

versity (location of the Augustinian Provincial) found a document

from the Congregation, Propaganda Fide in Rome designating the

Augustinian Order in Philadelphia ''to care (for) all Italians'' in

the city.8

This would mean that all Italian national parishes in

Philadelphia would be staffed by no other order or diocesan priests

except the Augustinians. The document was dated "1899" and had

been directed to the newly established parish, Our Lady of Good

Counsel on the 800 block of Christian Street.

St. Rita's was not an Italian national parish, despite what

Kirlin noted (among other factual errors in his text.) Located

two blocks south of Washington Avenue on the west side of South

Broad Street, St. Rita's filled a void between st. Teresa's Church at

Broad and Catharine Streets (east side) and the recent Durang­

designed St. Thomas Aquinas (1904) about one mile southwest. For

this Broad Street site, the church would have a westward orienta­

tion for the altar, but would have a facade on Broad where rows

of tall brownstones, some with distinguishing Victorian accents

displayed their middle-class owners' wealth, similarly to the same

brownstones on North Broad. The socio-economics were important to

the church as a influence the

matter of the

archbishop's choice for a

congregation's ability to

site for

financially maintain the

church building, as an investment and asset to the archdiocese.

This part of South Philadelphia already had development com­

parable to other outlying neighborhoods. The Vare brothers from

; Kirlin, J. Catholicity in Philadelphia. Phila.: McVey, 1911 ,p.508. Juliani, Richard, Priest, Parish, and People. Nctre Dame: Univer­

sity of Notre Dame Press, 2007, pp.164,351, 50n.

-19-

Snyder Avenue are credited for developing the area south of

Washington Avenue on both sides of Broad Street. U.S. Senator

William S. Vare stated: "My constituents' interests are my inter­

ests: a greater navy yard; more small parks and ..• League Island

Park; completion of the boulevard (i.e., Broad Street); better

street railway facilities; additional school buildings; better

police and fire protection, and streets graded and improved so

that builders may be encouraged and not handicapped." 9 His state­

ment is a summary of the time and circumstances around which St.

Rita's was established.

Migration of southern Italians to Philadelphia began signi­

ficantly in the 1880 to 1920 period. Juliani, retired professor

of Sociology at Villanova University and the expert on the history -of the presence of anyone from the Italian peninsula had

his Building Little Italy 12n the movement of the Italian

written

groups

in Philadelphia. Whether settling in areas close to their employ­

ment, or to reunite with relatives, generally, the Italians, like

the Irish before them, progressed from east to west and south in

the area south of Washington Avenue. The Irish Catholics who had

already

belling

been near the St. Rita's Church location diffused any la-

of the church as

an nationality. Indeed,

specifically

the staffing

for one from Italy or Itali­

of Augustinians of Irish an-

cestry who were ordered to oversee those of Italian ancestry miti­

gated the Augustinians' services in assimilating when it seemed

that Italian newcomers were to be found east of Broad where the 11

Italian-born clergy and nuns were greeting a second wave, not those

from the late 19th century who relocated to other Philadelphia

neighborhoods like Tacony, West Philadelphia and farther south.

9oberholtzer's History of Philadelphia, copied the same text on

"Williams. Vare" as in Philadelphia: Pictorial and Biographical Phila.: S.J. Clarke Pub., 1911,pp.361;363-ij.· ~~Juliani, Building Little Italy. Penn State University Press, 1997.

St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi Church, the first Italian national church in the U.S. and nearby Our Lady of Good Counsel were staffed with Italian-speaking clergy and provided services to new arrivals.

-21-

Indian Commissioners by President Theodore Roosevelt, a national

honor for a Roman Catholic at the time. But among the scant re­

cords archived for a prelate of such duration and activity re­

mains proof that Ryan had relationships with others in Roosevelt's

Republican staff, such as Attorney General Charles Bonaparte, a

former diplomat. At the time of St. Rita's founding, Ryan was a

very accomplished representative of Philadelphia's Roman Catholic

Church, without a hint of impropriety marring his good name. (Refer to some documents copied for Appendix 1.)

The question of why George I. Lovatt and not Edwin F. Durang

designed St. Rita's is one still unanswered and not even suggested

by any record. As previously mentioned, in 1904, st. Thomas Aqui­

nas Church, about one mile southwest of st. Rita's was designed

by Durang at Morris and Seventeenth Streets. Durang was still on

the archdiocesan payroll, in the archdiocesan offices provided for

him and was given the most commissions by Ryan and his staff of

parish planners. In the case of st. Rita's however, there seemed

no written proof of Lovatt's hiring, but this architect was quite

familiar with South Broad Street from his alterations done at the 1 5

St. Teresa Church complex, about five blocks north of St. Rita's.

With no indication of how Lovatt decided upon the design for St.

Rita's--as if suggested by Ryan--the presumption is that Lovatt

used this commission to establish himself as an able ecclesiastical

architect, competent to handle much more for the archdiocese.

Lovatt's biographical information is attached IOr reference

on his background, experience and recognition by fellow architects.

For St. Rita's he seemed to have done research on the first Baroque

churches in Rome dating from the mid to late 1500s into the 1600s

when the style became refined by Maderno who went on to finish st.

Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Neither of Lovatt's local churches

1 tatman, s. and Moss, R., Biographical Dictionary of Philadelphia Architects. Boston: Hall, pp. Lovatt's work at St. Teresa's was in 1905, above Washington Avenue

near Tindley Temple, the Ridgeway Library and other churches.

-23-

Rita Mancini who supposedly had a following in Cascia, Italy

to attest to her intercession to Our Lord through miracles. Rita

was of the Augustinian Order of nuns, thus relevant to the males

in the Provincial situated on the grounds of their Villanova Uni­

versity, formerly "Villanova College" when founded in 1842. It

was the first Roman Catholic school of higher education in Penn­

sylvania and did not admit females until the early 1960s.

1 8 Juliani and Bishop Joseph Martino chronicled the time of the

founding of St. Rita's by Archbishop Ryan around the subject of

Protestant evangelization in South Philadelphia with the Italian

newcomers as the targeted group. Several Italian Protestant chur­

ches arose in the general area near St. Rita's, but east of Broad,

from the early 1880s through the early decades of the twentieth

century--all while Ryan was archbishop •1 9 Kirlin noted that "the

generosity" of the pastor and parishioners at the "Messiah Protes­

tant Episcopal Church'f~xtended to those who would become St. Ri­

ta's first congregants with use of their premises on the corner of

Broad and Federal Street. It was across another church, a Presby­

terian one. Methodists were also in the area and south on Broad

Street, expanding their religion to medical and social services.

So, while the imminent Protestant groups somewhat surrounded St.

Rita's, it is not documented whether Lovatt's use of the Roman Ba­

roque was to recall the Catholic reaction to looming Protestantism

in the same environment. But the Roman Baroque suggests a contem­porary sentiment that was surely on Ryan's mind at the time, as the

Church's shepherd over a fluctuating, diverse and unpredictable

flock in Philadelphia.

In 1908, Archbishop Ryan dedicated st. Rita's.

18 Martino's doctoral dissertation is "A Study of Certain Aspects of the Episcopate of Patrick J. Ryan, Archbishop of Philadelphia, 1884-1911,"submitted to Gregorian Pontifical University, Rome,1982. Bishop Martino first noted the Protestant sects in ''Little Italy,'' then Juliani in Priest ... added more in relation to his thesis.

19Philadelphia Atlases, 1895, 1901 and 1910 (Bromley; Hexamer Insu­

rance). 20 Kirlin, op. cit.

from

-24-

The Roman Catholic Church of St. Rita of Cascia ••.

(e) Embodies distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style or engineering specimen.

As one of only a few Roman Baroque buildings in Philadelphia,

st. Rita's Church was carefully designed to evoke the first

churches of this style. St. Rita's Church would find its archi­

tectural predecessors in Rome, Italy where the Baroque began in

the mid-1500s and matured before 1700. The Baroque emerged as

the Roman Catholic Church's response to the call for reform;

Protestant religions were founded in opposition. With religious

conflicts throughout the European continent, the Church reasserted

its primacy in faith as well as culturally through art. Visual re­

ligious expression was intended to maintain active Catholicism and

the Baroque was bold, brash and moved ancient Greek and Roman arch­

itecture beyond the Renaissance into a style which would be adap­

ted throughout Europe. Initially, the Baroque was an instrument

of the Church's propaganda against the rising Protestant factions.

The robust articulation of architectural parts brought an excite­

ment not sensed with the Gothic, Romanesque or Renaissance styles.

FIG. 31. S. Fra&Uco dt/Ja Vipa, Venia, by Palladio. V.1ig,t of t!N fa;add (aft,r R. Witt,._) sJwwi,,g th, n,,o int,r/ockld ump/• fronu. ( 1 5 6 2 )

At left is an ear~y

prototype leading to

a complete Baroque in

Rome. (Source: Chastel,

A., Italian Art •. NY:Har­

per & Row, 1963, p.279.)

Refer to Santa Susanna

Church by Maderno (1597)

to compare for matured

Baroque, herein, p. 27.

d

-25-

Palladio's drawing on the previous page explains the gen­

esis of how a building such as St. Rita's and other Baroque

churches bore facades with the integrated vertical and horizontal

components, relegating a second, upper level to a more narrowed

width, but allowing the central vantage to lead upward, then to

each side bay. The viewer's eyes understand these facades to ap­

pear higher than wider, but it is not the case in most Baroque.

Architect Lovatt noted the essence of verticality when ap­

plying characteristics of the Baroque. Tracing how this style

arose from an interim period after the Renaissance (Mannerism),

from Palladio (ne: Andrea di Pietro: 1508-1580), the church of

Santa Caterina dei Funari in Rome proceeded two years after the

Palladio church in Venice. Designed by Guido Guidetti, the Roman

church introduced volutes above the first floor to negotiate the

space between the two levels, interlocking the levels. (Refer to

image, herein on page 26.) From this design emerged the fuller,

matured Baroque in the facade by Giacomo della Porta at the Church

of Il Gesu in Rome. Begun in 1575, the volutes at the facade, the

wide second level pediment hovering over paired piers, then another

level of paired piers on the first level, the "unified" composition

of the vertical and horizontal elements add to Il Gesu's part in

the history of the Baroque. Note the emphasis to tho center, the

side niches with statues and high pedimented portal, adapted at

st. Rita's. (Refer to image, herein, page 26.)

After Il Gesu, architect Carlo Maderno (1556-1629) designed

Santa Susanna (1597-1603) in Rome. Maderno had been born just as

the Baroque was germinating in northern Italy and his contribu­

tion to the decades-old style--imitated at St. Rita's--is how the

pairing of piers (or pilasters) on the second level and the twinned

-26-

Prototypes for st. Rita's

Characteristics of the Baroque began to appear in Rome with the Church of Santa Caterina (left) in 1564 with the volutes.

Art historians agree that the Church of Il Gesu in Rome (below) epitomizes the Baroque from its 1575 facade.

The Baroque continued to produce more attempts to integrate the parts within each level into the 1600s.

(Images·left and next page in Held; below, Janson.)

596. GIACOMO DELLA PORTA. Fa9ade of II Gesu, Rome. c. 157 5-84

-27-

] /. CARLO ;\-IADER:\'0.

Fai;ade. S. Su ... ,rnna. 1597-1603. Rome

Maderno's "clarity of organization" observation by Held in this fa­cade, along with its more florid, ornamental textures elevated the Baroque. (Refer to Appendix 1, Held, pp.26-27 .-)

Tom Crane photograph from Roger Moss' Historic Sacred Places,

Church of the Gesu NORTH PHILADELPHIA 2 3 9

I I

-30-

St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi Church, c. 1910. Architectural Album of Edwin Forrest Durang & Son, courtesy of the Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES: (primary and secondary)

Chastel, Andre, ~talian Art. NY: Harper & Row, 1963.

Connelly, Jas., History of the Archdiocese of Phila. Phila.: 1976.

Held J. & Posner, D., 17th and 18th Century Art. NY: Abrams, 1979.

Hitchcock, Jas., History of the Catholic Church. San Francisco: Ignatius, 2012.

Kirlin, Jos., Catholicity in Philadelphia. Phila. McVey, 1911.

Janson, H.W., History of Art. NY: Abrams, 1977.

Juliani, R.N., Priest, Parish & People. Notre Dame: 2007.

Miller, F., et al., Still Philadelphia. Phila.: Temple U. Press, 1983.

Moss, Roger, Historic Sacred Places of Philadelphia. Phila.:

Oberholtzer, E., Philadelphia; A History of the City and its Peo 7 ~. Phila.: Clarke, 1912.

Tatman, S. & Moss, R., Biographical Dictionary of Philadelphia Architec:;_t_~, Boston, 1985.

OTHER REFERENCES:

Bicentennial History of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Strasbourg, France, 2007.

Butler's Lives of the Saints City Directories New Catholic Encyclopedia Pennsylvania Consolidated statutes GoogleMaps and Philadelphia Atlases Philadelphia Register of Wills Catholic Historical Research Center of the Archdiocese of Phila.

SPECIAL THANKS TO: - ' Mrs. Laura DiPapquale, Philadelphia Historical Commission Messrs Bruce Laverty and Michael Seneca, The Athenaeum of Phila. "Megan" at Map Collection, Free Library of Phila. (Logan Branch) Patrick Shank, Asst. -Archivlsti Catholic Historical Rs·earch Center of the Archdiocese of Philade phia, Phila.

APPENDICES AVAILABLE ON WEBSITE: https://www.phila.gov/historical/Documents/1156-62_S_Broad_St_StRitas.pdf

APPENDIX 1

Sources used for Criterion (a)

National Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia 1166 South Broad St• Philadelphia, PA 19146 • (215) 546-8333

September 24, 1996

Program Director Historic Religious Properties Program 1616 Walnut Street, Suite 2310 Philadelphia, PA 19103

Dear Program Director,

I recently happened upon a copy of your brochure, "Sacred Sites of Center City, A Walking Tour." I am including some information on our shrine in the hope that we might qualify for inclusion in your next publication. We are located on South Broad Street, just one block south of Washington Avenue. For the past several years I have been working to increase awareness of our existence both locally and nationally. We have met with some success through our own limited advertisement efforts, but I am interested in networking with other groups as well. Just yesterday a tour bus from Kentucky stopped here on its way to Canada. We have also received tour groups from New York, New Jersey and Deleware. I have been a member for the past three years of the National Association of Shrine and Pilgrimage Apostolate, an association of Catholic religious shrines. Any advice you might be able to offer to help me in my efforts would be greatly appreciated.

I thank you for your consideration.

>~_,~A"--?,~ _.,.r: •r /,\~~

'"Fi-.1vfichael Di Gregorio, O.S.A. - - -Pastor and Shrine Director

·a against Austria. Rome fell into Italian hands in 1870, r France recalled its soldiers to meet the threat of

Pru sian attack. By 1870 the risorgimento could be con­sider d finished, even though some claim that its comple­tion di not occur until the acquisition of Italia irredenta (Italian rritory still in Austrian hands) after World War I.

The ri rgimento was mainly a political movement, but it can b interpreted also as a national revival that made Italy p of the 19th-century Western state system and civilization As such, the movement posed serious re­ligious problems, for with few exceptions all who partici­pated in it were pr cticing Catholics, from the leaders of the 1821 revolts General Cadoma, who occupied Rome in 1870. The s lit between the Church and the na­tional and liberal mo ment began in 1848 and gained momentum after 1855, hen the first Piedmontese anti­clerical laws were passe . From then on, Catholics who were also patriots were fa d with a serious crisis of con­science. This created man problems for the new state and had serious consequen s for Italy and its people until the schism was healed the LATERAN PACTS of 1929 (see ROMAN QUESTION).

Bibliography: A. MONTI, Pia el Risorgimento italiano (Bari 1928). R. ALBRECHT-CARRIE, Italy m Napoleon to Mussoli­ni (New York 1950). E. P. NOETHER, See of Italian Nationalism 1700-1815 (New York 1951). D. MACKS , Cavour and Gari­baldi, 1860: A Study in Political Conflict (C bridge, Eng. 1954). R. GREW, A Sterner Plan for Italian Unity: The talian National So­ciety in the Risorgimento (Princeton 1963). A. . IEMOLO, Chiesa e stato in Italia negli ultimi cento anni (Turin 1 8); Church and State in Italy, 1850-1950, tr. D. MOORE (Philad phia 1960). D. MASSE, Cattolici e Risorgimento (Milan 1961). E. R A, ed., Ques­tioni di ~toria del Risorgimento e dell' unitG. d'ltalia ilan 1951). Nuove questioni di storia del Risorgimento e dell' u ·1a; d'Jtalia (Milan 1962). L. SALVATORELLI et al., "II problema re ·gioso del Risorgimento," Rassegna storica del Risorgimento (1956) 193-345, 413-589, proceedings of the 33d Congresso di S ria de[ Risorgimento, 1954. E. ARTON et al., "TI problema politico el cat­tolicesimo nel Risorgimento," Rassegna storica Toscana .3-4 (1958), proceedings of the 11th Convegno of the SocietO. tos na per la storia del Risorgimento, 1958. R. AUBERT, Le Pontifi.ca de Pie IX (Fliche-Martin 21; 2d ed. 1964).

[E. P. NOETHERJ

RIST, VALERIUS

ciscan 1lliss10nary to Indochina; b. Neuburg, Jan. 6, 169 , Nhatrang, Cochin China, Sept. 15, 1737.

· In 1712 he joine Reformed Franciscans of Bavaria. ·, In 1721 he entered the ietro in Montorio missionary

cnllege, Rorne, and in 1722 to found a mission in Jo­hnre, Malaya. When he was refus entry on May 11, · 1124, he went to Cambodia, where he wo from Octo­ber of 1724 to August of 1728. He was sent by

,, '

RITA OF CASCIA, ST.

egation de Propaganda Fide to Kuang-chou, China, e uring a shipwreck on the way. In July of 1730 he he-

ro-vicar of Cambodia and Laos. On Oct. 1, 1735, he was med titular bishop of Mindoniurn and coadjutor to Bishop !essandro Alessandri, vicar apostolic of Co-chiu China Cambodia, and was consecrated by him on April 28, I , at Hue. He was buried· at Nhatrang, center of his apost te. Despite conflicts of jurisdiction with missionaries of o er institutes, he converted many pagans, almost complete catechism in Cambodian that has since perished, and c piled an itinerary of his travels.

Bibliography: E. SCHLUND, Nach B. LINS, Geschichte der bayerischen Franzis erprovinz (Munich 1926). B. H. Wil...LEKE, Lexikon far Theologie u Kirche, ed. J.

HOFER and K. RAHNER (Freiburg 1957-65) 8:1321- 22.

[F. MAR OTT!]

RITA OF CASCIA, ST.

"Saint of Desperate Cases"; b, Roccaporena near Cascia, Umbria, 1377; d. May 1447. After her husband had been murdered and her children had died, she entered the new Augustinian convent of Santa Maria Magdalena (now S. Rita) in Cascia. A mystic of the cross, she bore Christ's bloody thorn in her forehead for 15 years before­her death. Because of her reputation for sanctity and mir­acles, her body and original coffin were transferred in 1457 to a decorated sarcophagus that still exists. Inside this sarcophagus is traced the bishop's recognitio cultus of 1457. She was beatified July 16, 1626, and canonized May 24, 1900. The sources for her life include the short versified life on the sarcophagus of 1457, the biographi­cal introduction of the original list of miracles after 1457 included in her beatification process, and the authentic 15th-century painting with six medallions portraying some events of her life. This painting was described in the beatification process. The iconography of the saint is based on the 15th-century painting as well as on two pic­tures on the sarcophagus. A new basilica containing the body of the saint was erected in 1946. Itis combined with a monastery, school, hospital, and orphanage and is a pil­grim center.

Feast: May 22.

Bibliography: Acta Sanctorum May 5:224-234. A. MORINI,

"La cassa funebre di S. Rita da Cascia," Archivio per la storia ec­clesiastica dell'Umbria 3 (1916) 75-80. F. CAMPO DEL POZO, Vida de S. Rita de Cascia (Zamora 1998). A. GORINI, La devozione a S. Rita de Cascia in Liguria (Cascia 1997).

[F. ROTH]

w CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA, 2nd edition. , Vol. 1 2. Published in Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2003.

255

" -\'l!:.tµ ~ n 1·18" ·.II l--' 'J _0 iJ

GOPSILL'S_ Philadelphia City Direntoryl

FOR --:: ;f >~- ;: ~:11_:,.

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[E11/i:red, according to Ac! of Congress, in the ye(I,. 1885, by James Gopsil!'s Sms, in the office of the Librarirui - : ,! of <.,ll1tgress, at Washington.)

A COMPLETE AND ACCURATE INDEX TO THE RESIDENTS OP THE ENTIRE 1 CITY: THEIR NAMES, BUSINESS, AND LOCATION,

' i 1· ' . !

I r

WITH AN APPENDIX CONTAINING USEFUL INFORJIATION AS TO BANKS, INSURANCE COMPANIES,

UHURCHES, CITY, STATE, AND MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS, CAREFULLY SELECTED AND COMPILED .

.A.LSO

AV ALU ABLE STREET INDEX OR GUIDE, AS FURNISHED BY THE CITY SURVEY DEPART.ivIENT.

S. B. RONEY, JYI,1...,s-AGER.

,'.};'.;{t ,,,

JAMES GOPSILL'S SONS, PUJJLISHEBS.

OFFICE: No. 220 Sou TR FouRTR STREET.

1885 .

. PRICE, $5.00. (FOR SALE ONLY AT DIRECTORY OFFICE.)

··-·~ l i

.!

er C&:

To insure full Weight and} COAL & WOOD { Measure purchase your

BUR 282

from FR.i\NK K. WARD SOUTH ST. W.H:.A.E'

Scl!OYLKILL R1y:i;:R, Ji'' BUR

Burkart J ohn B., tailor, 308 N 9th Burkart Joseph R., salesman, h l92i Park av Burkart Joseph W., carpenter, h 230G Bolton Burkart Valentine, conveyancer, 431 Arch, h

2'.!21 Hunting Park av

Burke James D., salesman, h 804 N 13th Burke James F., laborer, h 1326 S Marshal! Burke James G., lo.borer, h 1115 Leopard Burke James H ., fireman, h 580 Taylor Burke James .T., laborer, h 1112 Dunton Burke James M., carrier P 0, h 1030 Master Burke James W., wniter, h r 420 Gaskil) Burke Jane, h 3223 Powelton Rv

Burkatzki Ferdinnnd F ., shoemkr, h 312 N 3d Burke Agnes, h 3Si0 Mt Vernon Burke A;:nes S., wid Edmund, h GIO Sy!,ester Burke Alfred F., grocer, Pine rd, Fox Chase Burke & Baker (Thom.as B. Burke & Chai·les I.

Baker), notion~. 234 Church · Rurke & Cook (Artman K. Burke & Clarence E.

Cook), printers, 3329 Richmond, Bdg

Burke Jane, wicl Edmund. h 604 N 13th Burke John, h Bingham house Burke Juhn, carrier F 0, h 'l'errace n Adams Burke John, carpenter, h 1928 Barcroft av Burke John, clerk, h 47'18 Franklin, Fkd Burke John, cooper, h 2508 Christian

Burke Ann, wir! Dominick, h r 1337 Gtn nv Burke Ann, wid Plltrick, h I8Gaffuey's av Burke Anna.1I., boarding, 1109 E Allegh1myav Burke Annie, wid Andrew. h 26i N Front . Burke Anthony, fireman, h 610 Sylvester Burke Arthur, clerk, h 1538 Fnwn Burke Artman K. (Burke & Cook), h 3331 Rich·

mond, Belg

Burke J ohn, driver, h 1425 Buttonwood Burke John, hostler, h r 221 Vaughn Burke John, huckster, h 1 r 110 Carpenter Burke John, laborer, b 1224 Alder Burke J ohn, laborer, h IOi Bainbridge Burke John, laborer, h 16 Centre, Gtn

Burke Artman K., Jr., student, h 3112 Rich-mond, Belg .

Burke John, laborer, hr 4303 Cresson, Myk Burke J ohn, laborer, h r 411 Cherry

Burke Bridget, wid Anthony, h 1325 S Front Burke Bridget, grocer, 602 l\IcClellan

Burke John, laborer, h 10,'il Dorrance Burke J ohn, laborer, h r 1337 Gtn

Burke Bridget, liquors, 130 South Burke Bridget M., dressmkr, 124 Spencer, Falls Burke Catharine, wid .Tames, h 1612 Bouvier lJnrke Catharine, widow, h r 1618 Randoph Burke Cece!i,, , wid J ohn, h 613 Vincent Burke Charles, laborer, h 2 Dean's av

Burke John, laborer, b 13i Green Burke John, laborer, h 2810 Hummel Burke John, ltthorer, h 600 New Market Burke John, laborer, h 2525 Riggs Burke John, laborer, h 124 Spencer, Faus Burke John , laborer, h 2I42 1'ryon Burke John, liquors, 737 513th Burke Charles, hiborer, h r 527 Fitzwater

Burke Charles, laborer, h r 721 St Mary Burke Charles P., brick maker, h 1051 Dorrance Burke C., 1narble, 133 N 12th Burke Daniel, clerk, h 1538 Fawn

Bnrke J ohn, liquors, 24:18 Emernld Burke John, machinist, h 114 Catharine Burke J ohn, porter, h 1 Bedell pl Burke John. printer, h 907 Mifflin

Burke Daniel, foreman, h 1215 Myrtle Burke Daniel P .. weaver, hr 1337 Gtn av Burke Dominick, laborer, h m S 24th Ilurke Edward, books, 628. Chestnut;h 312 N 33d B urke Edwnrd, fertilizers, Bainbridge st whl Ilurkc Edward, carder, h 2438 Wa!ii,ce Burke Edward. laborer, h 1509 E Thompson Ilurke Edwnrd, laborer, h r 2407 Kent

Burke John; salesman, h 18 Gaffney's av Burke John, shoemkr, h 427 Appletree al Burke John, shoemkr, h 811 Auburn Burke John, shoemkr, h 15 Autumn Burke J ohn, shoemkr, h 627 Christian Burke John, shoemkr, h 936 S 9th Burke John, shoes, Gtn av n Wissahickon av

Burke Edward, machinist, h 1U5 Leon Burke Edward, painter, h 1425 Buttonwood Ilurke Edward, police, h 1921 Darien Ilurke Edward, salesman, h 312 N 33d Burke Edward D., stoker, h 2104 Christian Bnrke Edward M ., painter, 1604 Sansom, h 45 · N17th Burke Edwin, foreman, h 40 Kirkbride, Bdg Burke Eliza, h 4226 Market Burke Emma A., widow, h 23;,0 llfascher Burke Emma llf.,wid Edwnrd T., h 1520 N 18th Bmke E. Hown rd , h 1416 S Broad Burke Fran cis, laborer, h 114 Catharine Burke Francis D, weaver, hr 1337 Gtn av Burke Frnncis T., pol!sher, h 1312 llicks Burke George, h 1152 S 13th Burke George, laborer, h r 306 New Market Burke George H. P., painter, 3914 Market, h S

Sith n Market Burk Georg:e W. ( William B. Burk & Co.), h

1907 N 13th Bmke George W., clerk, h 3715 Melon Burke George W., clerk, h 1416 S Broad Burke Hen ry A., tuner, h 4034 Reno, WP Burke Henry J., plumber, 1317 Ridge av, h

23.', P rice, Gtn Burke James, carpenter, h 1509 E Thompson Burke J ames, carver, h 308 N 13th Burke James, clerk, h 526 Pine Burke James, d river, h 2.'i3 Schell Burke James, dyer, h 1817 Cabot Burke James, fireman, h 612 S Gth Burke James, furniture, 711 S 11th Burke James, laborer, h 1425 Buttonwood Burke James, laborer, h 1G Centre, Gtn Burke James, laborer, h 1051 Dorrance :Bnrke James, laborer, h r527Fitzwnter Burke James, laborer, h James n Margaretta,

W Ha ll . Jlu rke James, liquors, 2366 Coral Burke James, shoemaker, h 2426 Perot Burke James, wenver, h 2221 Linn Burke James B .. machinist, h 1314 Pearl B URKE JAMES D., bats, 1720 Market

CHill Burke John, tailor, hl201 Peters Burke John, tailor, 919 S 5th Burke John, weaver, h 1504 N 4th Burke J ohn F., despatcher, h 1211 H anover Burke J ohn H., segarmkr, h 135 N 6th Burke John J., dry goods, 1334 Austin Burke John J., shoemkr, h 826 Catharine Bnrke. John W., clerk, h 112!1 ChristiDn Burke Joseph, cutter, h 1349 Christian Burke Joseph , huckster, h 2217 Clarion Burke J oseph, laborer, hr 1615 Randolph Burke Joseph, laborer, h 756 N 36th Burke Joseph, liquors, 938 S 2d, h 1325 S Front Burke Joseph E, supt, h 133 N 12th Burke Joseph E., Jr., clel'l,, ii 133 N 12th Burke Joseph F., huckster, h 83i Mountain Burke Joseph J .• cabiuetmkr, h 1922 Carpenter Burke Joseph J ., cutter, h 734 S 9th Bu rke J., h 241 S 15th Burke J. D., salesman, h S04 N 13th Burke Louis, plasterer, h 1611 Hutchinson BURKE LUCAS E., public accountant, 420 Wal·

nut, h 615 S 10th Burke Margaret A., dressmkr, 2206 F itzwater Burke Martin, farmer, h Torresdale Burke Martin, fireman. h 610 Sylvester Burke Martin, junk, 632 Bench, h fi31 N Front Burke Martin, laborer, h r 1319 Fisher Burke Martin, segars, 109 Oxford Burke Martin, tanner, h r 1615 Randolph Burke Mary, wid Francis P., h 24i S 23d Burke Mary, wid John, h 826 Catbarme­Burke Mnry. wid John, h 1720 Market Burke Mary, wid William, h 1,538 Fawn Burke llfary, d ressmkr, 660 Holly Burke Mar;-, grocer, 825 Bainbridge Burke Mary A., ,vid J ohn W., h 1631 Helmuth Burke Matthias, driver, h 613 Vinceut Burke llfichael, laborer, h l:Wl Almendo Burke Michael. laborer, h r 424 Christian Burke Michael, laborer, h 1713 Dickinson Burke Michael, laborer, hr 3.J36 Filbert Burke Michael, laborer, h 1319 Mott Burke Michael, laborer, h 1455 Mt Holly Burke Michael, laborer, h 1235 Salmon

,., ke Michael :B~ke Michael B urlrn·Michael 1urke Michael

urke Michael r Jl urke Micl1ael J :~urlrn Michael

:Burke Michael ]3urke Jlfmtlln, Jlurke Na.~h. l r Burke Owen, J :Burke .Patr1d

Dickinson Burke Patrick 1lurke Patrick Burke Patrick Burke Patrick Burke Patrick :Burke Patr!ck J,url<e Patrick Jlurke Patrick Burke Pntrirk Btirke Patrick Burke Patrick Burke Ps.tr1cJ; Burke Patrick Burke Ps.tncl, Burke Patrick Jlnrke Putrid Burke Patrick Burke P,ttr~c~ Burke Fatr!c·\. Burke Patncl, Burke Peter, :

• Bnrkc Peter, Burke Peter

Christi nu Burke Peter f Burke P . Cha Burke Rehccc Burke Rirhnt Burke Richnt Burke Richo., Burke Richlll Dnrkc Snrnu

Trenton nv Bu rke $,nab. Burke Snrnh , Burke Stcph<

Dickinson Burke T hom. Burke Thom Burke Tho m Burke Thom Burke Thom Burke Thom Burke Thom Burke Thom Burke Thom Burke Thom Burke Thom Burke Thom Burke Thorn Burke T horn Burke Thom Burke Thom Burke Wnlte

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taker~. 112· Burke Willit Burke Willi! Burke \\'i\lh Burke Willi, Burke Willi, Burke Willi, Burke Will i, Burke Willi Burke Willi Burke Willi Burke Willi Burke Willi Burke \\'illi Burke Willi Burke Willi Hurke \\'illi Burke Willi Burke Willi

Gnarant

<trutq n 1 irity tu

If qtluhtlpqiu FROM THE EARLIEST Mm!ONARIES DOWN TO THE PRESENT TIME

BY

JOSEPH L. J. KIRLIN Priest of the Archdiocese of PbUedclpbia

.... .. .. . . .. . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . ::· ............ : ::. : -.:

JOHN JOS. McVEY J909

o,g,,,ze,1 by Goog I e

508 CATHOLICITY IN PHILADELPHIA App.

secured the names and residences, and familiarized himself with the needs of the Italians, Father McCort bought ground at Fiftieth and Master Streets, and began the erection of a church, the corner­stone of which was blessed on 7 July, 1907, by Bishop Prendergasl The building was quickly finished, and on 1 December, 1907, was dedicated by Bishop Prendergast under the title of Our Lady of the Angels. Almost the entire cost of the church was paid by the generous people of the parish of Our Mother of Sorrows.

st. 'lllta•e Although the Italian settlement was provided with 1>burcb two Italian churches very close together, and the (Italian), Italian ScJiool of St. Paul's parish, it was found 1907 necessary to establish another Italian parish at Broad and Ellsworth Streets. For this purpose the Archbishop devoted a legacy that had been left him by the estate of Lucas Burke to build a church for the Augustinian Fathers, and accordingly in June, 1907, the Rev. James F. McGowan, 0. S. A., was placed by his Superiors in charge of the new parish, to secure the permanent support of which parts of the parishes of St. Teresa's and the Annunciation were devoted. Dwelling-houses were purchased on ,; Broad Street below Ellsworth Street, and a temporary chapel was solemnly opened in a stable building on Carlisle Street, 23 June, 1907, by the Very Rev. M. J. Geraghty, D. D., Privincial of the Augustinian Order. After a few weeks, however, through the generosity of the Rev. Frederick Smith, and the congregation of the Messiah Protestant Episcopal Church, the parish-house of that congregation was used by St. Rita's Catholic congregation for serv-ices on Sundays and holidays of obligation until their own edifice was completed. As soon as the site was cleared, the construction of the church was begun, and the comer-stone was blessed on 27 October, 1907, by the Right Rev. William A. Jones, D. D., 0. S. A., Bishop of Porto Rico. The work on the church, which is of characteristic Italian Renaissance architecture, was prosecuted until the structure was completed exteriorly, although the basement had been fitted up for divine worship, and dedicated on 27 Septem­ber by Archbishop Ryan.

D1q,t,zed Dy Google

THE HISTORY OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA. Edited by James F. Connelly, S.T.L., Hist. E.D.

Philadelphia C--/7%

54 HISTORY OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

legal incorporation in October, 1788; elected as their own pastor John Chai Helbron, a German Capuchin, and on November 22, 1789, Holy Tri, church was dedicated and opened as the first national parish in Amer This experiment in religious pluralism contained all the elements of framework of the prolonged controversy over "trusteeism:" laymen actin church affairs upon their own initiative; wandering priests fleeing the turbed conditions of Europe following the French Revolution, many of ti lacking proper credentials, and appeals to American civil law and author: to circumvent the inadequate and poorly organized canon Jaw of the d1

In the late summer of 1796, while Philadelphia was still recovering: the yellow fever epidemics that took 5,000 lives, 103 personality conflicts jurisdictional battles over parish leadership divided the trustees of : Trinity. It took another six years of negotiations between Bishop John Ca and the trustees before the latter finally yielded to episcopal authorit:

Between the-years 1790 and 1820 approximately 250,000 immigi entered the United States of America helping to raise the total populati 9,618,000 by 1820. During that same period, the population of the Com wealth of Pennsylvania more than doubled, rising from 434,000 to s!i over 600,000 in 1800, over 800,000 in 1810, and passing the 1,000,000 by the end o:f the generation. In 1810 the city and county of Philade numbered 111,210 people (14 percent of the total state population) slowed growth of the city population may have been a direct conseque· the recurrence of epidemics in 1798, but the increase in the com Philadelphia clearly indicated strains and stress upon the religious ir tfr,ns of the area.

As the three existing Catholic churches of Philadelphia were all sil south of Walnut Street by 1789, the need for a structure north of lv Street steadily became apparent. With permission from Bishop Carr,

- Irish Augustinians came to the Diocese of Baltimore, and in 1795 J Matthew Carr, O.S,A. arrived from Dublin to found a house of his m Philadelphia. The generous r~sponse to his appeal for building funds i prompted Father Carr to undertake construction of what became "the! church in Philadelphia" in June, 1801. St. Augustine church was loc: Fourth and Vine streets. This initial monastery of the A ugustinia~ I the matherhouse of the Province of Our Lady of Good Counsel. Destru, the church records during the Native-American anti-Catholic riots obscures much of the early history of this parish."105

When Father Carr moved his residence to St. Augustine's, the tru St. Mary's petitioned Bishop John Carroll to send to them a pastor caJ preserving the dignity of what they modestly called "the leading churc United States." Father Michael Egan, an Irish-born member of the I

---'-- 1..n.1 omiP"Tated to Lancaster,

Priest, Parish, :1nt People

Saving the Faith in Philadelphia's "Little Italy"

RICHARD N. JULIAN!

University of Notre Dame Press

Notre Dame, Indiana

164 Priest, Parish, and People

"outside societies" independent of his parish, "cropping up like mushrooms," he was admitting that he could no longer remain the only pastor serving them.48

Isoleri was well aware of the congestion and its consequences in his district. Mindful of the agrarian origins of Italians, he proposed that one-half of them, for their own moral, hygienic, and economic improvement as well as for the benefit of their new society, resettle in rural areas where there was land for them to cultivate. Isoleri also asked city officials to open two or three small parks below South Street to relieve the congestion that caused idleness nine months of the year, bred disease, crime, and socialism, and encouraged Protestant pros­elytizing. The era of St. Mary Magdalen dePazzi as Little Italy's only church had reached its end. 49

~ Another aspect of Our Lady of Good Counsel, however, remained hidden from public knowledge. In February 1899, the Congregation of Propaganda Fide had granted the Augustinians not only the new church "in perpetuum" but also 'Qie care of all Italians in Philadelphia, except for those who were currently mem­bers of St. Mary Magdalen dePazzi. In July 1900, 1Fchbishop Ryan added to the contract that the parish and property of St. Mary Magdalen dePazzi, upon the death of its present pastor, would be assigned to the Augustinians. With an esti­mated 30,000 Italians in Philadelphia at this time, the arrangement appeared to be feasible, but subsequent population growth, along with a new archdiocesan policy of establishing its own churches, would eventually negate it. And some thirty-four years after the original agreement, Archbishop Dennis J. Dougherty's suppression of Our Lady of Good Counsel would provoke the most turbulent events in the archdiocese since the Hoganism schism a century earlier.50

Tb

Cathe

By the late nineteenth cent pastor had transcended loc in American religious histor Ttali ans, Father Antonio Iso addressed not only question ~erica. At these moments, tngknown ·to prelates, schol: grants adjusting .to a new soc ch~enges, but three in parti< :err willingness and ability o.rrns of popular piety· and , ~ ' '

Illinonly called, as practicir of Protestants and secular refc Dlent the d c . ' nee 10r a nat10nal l

erican1·s th I . m, e talian prob lllg American Catholicism at .;

~ile the "Italian proble ll.ncils of Catholicism in Re azzi Would provide its own and laity Al h . . · t ough its cor

his parish and others lil

238 · Priest, Parish, and People

parish school grew to an enrollment of 1,460, with all but twenty students being Italian, by 1920. Thus, Italian children took over the school, as their families did the parish, while they were themselves being absorbed by a dominant culture. School and parish had both become caldrons of assimilation for Italians.27

West of Broad Street

Although some Italians fea red that crossing Broad Street- Philadelphia's prin­cipal north-south artery-meant reprisals from the Irish, an increasing num­ber of fami lies took that risk in their search for housing. When the archdiocese opened St. Rita's Church, Irish American Augustinians erased that boundary al­together. Neither a nationality parish nor a co-opted territorial parish, St. Rita's was marked by anomaly and ambiguity from its inception . It began with a legacy from a wealthy layman to the archdiocese that directed the Augustinians from 7/.;0 Villanova College to build a church in nearby suburban Bryn Mawr. Since one already existed there, the archdiocese sought to use the bequest in another man-ner, but the Augustinian role still had to be resolved. In 1905, recognizing the urgent need for another Ital ian church, the archdiocese began securing proper-ties on the west side of South Broad Street below Ellsworth. Unlike Our Lady of Good Counsel with its Italian clergy, St. Rita's, staffed by American priests, rested on a compromise between the archdiocese and the American Province of the Augustinians. 28

An ambitious plan called for other facil ities as well as a church for the com­munity. The energetic pastor of St. Rita's, Father James F. McGowan, 0.S.A., bought a house on Broad Street for a day nursery, kindergarten, and parish center under the direction of Augustinian brothers. Behind quickly demolished houses on Broad Street, he renovated a former stable as a temporary chapel in the spring of 1907. By autumn, the congregation had exceeded its capacity. A Protestant neighbor provided an almost providential solution. Eschewing the usual discord between denominations, the Reverend Frederick W. Smith, rector of the Mes­siah Protestant Episcopal Church, extended the use of his parish house without charge to the Augustinians. From this exemplary act, McGowan was able to offer six masses on Sundays. Reciprocating this precocious ecumenicism, McGowan invited Smith to the dedication of the basement chapel in 1908.29

The ambiguous status of St. Rita's as a parish represents a puzzling aspect of its early history. Although termed an Italian church as well as "Italian-English," St. Rita's was intended to serve not only the Italians west of Twelfth Street but also the English-speaking Catholics on both sides of Broad Street. When an es­timated 10,000 spectators gathered for the cornerstone layi~g-ceremonies, Ital­ians staked their claim. A large procession from Little Italy, led by older people,

then children's soda of Good Counsel tc

Vlhen the baset referred to St. Rita't was more diverse th

The congregati or ancestry, inc and a sprinklin the recent con' congregation o: at the disposal c

new basement. the latter payin brant of the M: sons of Sunny I officer "bleedin

Despite the tendenc of the Catholic Cht Italian congregatior diversity within its E settle differences at t shared by the Irish ; their persecution in them for overcomir and themselves in t he asserted that the if cared for, be as fa united by the Chun ship through religio future for Italian an,

At almost the same churches in Straffo1 the industrial city tc Assumption Churd mo, who wrote to I

Beyond South J>hilndclphia 239

children's sodalities, and other religious societies, marched from Our Lad)· Good Counsel to St. Rita's in the cclebration30

When the basement chapel opened in September 1908, ne\\'spaper accounts

referred to St. Rita's as an Ita lian church or as one for the Italian colony, but it

was more diverse than other congregations in which Italians found themselves:

The congregation, mainly com posed of persons of Irish and Italian birth

or ancestry, included also representatives of half a d ozen other nationalities

and a sprinkling of Colored Catholics. r\mong those present were some of

the recent converts of Episcopalianism, as also members of the !\kssiah

congregation of that denomination, which so kindly placed its parish house

at the disposal of St. Rita's pastor and people pending the completion of the

new basement. There were two sermons, one in English and one in Italian,

the latter paying tribute to the faith and fidelity of the lrish race. The cele­brant of the Mass bore a name redolent of the Old Sod, the deacons were

sons of Sunny Italy, the master of ceremonies suggested France and a minor officer "bleeding Poland."3 1

Despite the tendency of the archdiocesan press to celebrate the "un ifying power

of the Catholic Church" as a fait accompli, St. Rita's had to reconcile a largely

Italian congregation with an lrish American clergy as \\'ell as with tj~~

diversity within its parish. Father Joseph Bizzarri, a priest from Rome, helped lo

settle differences at the chapel dedication. Speaking in Italian, he described traits

shared by the Irish and Italians. Praising the lrish for their fidelity, he spoke of

their persecutio n in Ireland and their ostr;icism in America. He then applauded

them for overcoming these obstacles and for winning respect for their Church

and themselves in their new country. With Italians coming in large numbers,

he asserted that the lack of their own priests posed a problem, but they would ,

if cared for, be as faithful as Catholics as tlte Irish had been. And both groups,

united by the Church, would resist socialism and anarchy by elevatin g ci tizen­

ship through religion. Rizzarri had shown a remarkably prophetic sense of the future for Italian and Irish Catholics in America.32

From the Mni11 Line to Chester

At almost the same time that Italians crossed Broad Street, they formed new

churches in Strafford , in the Main Line suburbs to the west, and in Chester,

the industrial city to the south of Philadelphia. The origins of Our Lady of the

Assumption Church in Strafford have been attributed to a \\'Oman from 'lcra­

mo, who wrote to her uncle, a monsignor in Rome, seeking a priest to hear

'

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Katharine Drexel Ph"l d 1 made her profess{on ;f;.e.plhia hdeiress and later St. Katharine

icia, un er authority of Archb" h is op Ryan.

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®£fir$ uf 1:fy~J\1:1:ir:r-n.iw ®-erct.ntL, li'n:£r1yitt£iilltt,). <!L.

October 8, 1907,

Right Reverend P. J, Ryan, D.D.,

Logan Square,

?hi lade 11,lhia , i'a.

My dear Archl>ishop Ryan:

I enclose herewith invitations to attend the

annual meeting of the .i-Tational Civil Service reform

lea6 ue, at Buffalo, ITew ·York, with the sr;ecial request

that you make an address at the public session on

Thursday ~vening, November 7th. I desire to urge

as earnestly as I can that you accept this invitation,

Your presence will not only be a source of personal

r,leasure to myself and the other gentlemen particular­

ly interested in the success of the meeting, but will

be a very great help in the work of the T.eague, I

heartily commend this invitation to you, and sincere-"

ly trust tllh.t you will lie able to accept it,

Believe me to be,

_\)',

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I horoby approve of tho i'oundution of Sistero of tho Dlooood SMrament

:for Indimrn and Colored Peoplo at Cornwolle ,Buck!J County ,Ponnaylvruiio., J!.,i_lf?' ed,..)

oru.led Saint };lizubeth • a nnd !-Joly Providonoo Houso, also tho' hcuoe at Phila-)(

dolphiu on North Broad Streot,

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i i i Philadelphia i w w m I I

PICTORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL i

I STEEL PLATE SUPPLEMENT i w ii ~ m i ii

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PHILADELPHIA AND CHICAGO i I m

THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY

1911

Thomas H. Bateman

1:milliam ~. Vare

ROM a negligible factor in municipal affairs to a po­sition of commanding influence-from "The Neck" to South Philadelphia-such in brief is the history of tbe past dozen years of that great section of the city south of South street and between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. While the man who would write

of that development could not ignore the ·Business Men's Association, with its agitations and recommendations, yet the credit for actual ac­complishment must be awarded to Recorder of Deeds William S. Vare. In the personal and public life of the section, in its religious, industrial and social, as well as in its political circles he has been an

-'· impelling force, generally and generously recognized. Churches have benefited by his largess, Ihe public schools have been his solici­_!.ude, splendid municipal improvements have been and are being se­cured, to the advantage and embellishment of the section, ample po­lice and fire protection is admitted, political adherents are duly cared for, and to the tale of the distressed deaf ears have never been turned. There is no secret to his success. It has been mainly a genius for hard work and the making of his constituents' interests his own in­terests.

William S. Vare left the grammar school for the mercantile field and began business life in a humble capacity in a department store. His industry and aptness soon won him promotion to a position in the audiLing department, where he acquired those habits of method and thrift which have never left him. Shortly after attaining his ma­jority he was elected to the first ward republican executive com­mittee. His election as president of the committee followed and under his masterly direction the opposition was reduced to insig­nificance. Possessing natural executive gifts, Recorder V are has ably administered every public trust committed to his care. The of­fice of recorder of deeds, one of the most responsible and exacting in the city hall, with its many details and several hundred employes, he has brought to a plane of efficiency never before attained. Testi­mony to this effect from an unexpected quarter came from Secretary Waldo, of the Civil Service Reform Association. He was testifying before a legislative committee in 1909 and was asked his opinion of

361

mtilliam ~- 'Vart 363

will extend from Thirteenth to Fifteenth streets and from Oregon avenue south for two blocks, where Board street will be opened into a three-hundred-foot-wide boulevard, which is to be continued to

-Pattison avenue, seven blocks south, the northern boundary of the park. The park comprises three hundred acres and extends from Eleventh to Twentieth streets and from Pattison avenue to Govern­ment avenue, which borders the navy yard.

By some strange oversight, South Philadelphia, although trav­ersed by three lines of cars running east and west, was practically without the benefit of the free transfer system. This was a grievous inconvenience and injustice to thousands of workers and a handicap to the local retail merchants. Enlisted by the latter, Recorder V are appeared before the board of directors of the Rapid Transit Com­pany and so successfully did he plead his constituents' cause that the section was granted free transfers at nearly every important junction.

The sifvelopment of the water front and the filling in of the low­lands of South Philadelphia are tremendous projects involving novel engineering problems and the expenditure of millions of money. No one is more thoroughly acquainted with the details or more anxious to assist Mayor Reyburn in working out plans than Recorder Vare.

Recorder of Deeds William S. Vare was born in the Vare home­stead, Fourth and Snyder avenue, on December 24, 1867. His mother, Abigail Vare, after whom the board of education named the first modern elementary school which graced the section, was a life­long member of the ·mliodist church. She was noted for her piety and charity and when, as a tribute to her memory the Recorder do­nated a year's salary of ten thousand dollars to the Messiah Method­ist Episcopal church at Moyamensing avenue and Morris street, which she had attended, the trustees renamed it the Abigail Vare Memorial Methodist Episcopal church. During the service at which this splendid gift was commemora:ted, one of the speakers said: "The influence wielded by Mrs. Vare must have been ideal, when she could give to the world such useful, noble sons." And another declared: "We all know she was the mother of three fine boys, but I also know that she was the mother, practically, of un­numbered needy ones." Recorder Vare's contributions to charitable and religious associations are large and are made without regard to creed.

On February 15, 1898; Mr. Vare was elected to select council from the first ward, which then included the present thirty-ninth, and was reelected in 1901. His platform of principles is that upon

364 OO!illiam §!I. "\Tare ·

which he has since stood and which has gained for him in no small measure his popularity and influence. Some of the planks were: "My constituents' interests are my interests; a greater navy yard. more small parks and the development of League Island Park; com'. pletion of the boulevard; better street railway facilities; additional school buildings; better police and fire protection, and streets graded and improved so that builders may be encouraged and not handi­capped."

In 1898 he was appointed a mercantile appraiser by City Treas­urer Clayton McMichael. He was not only elected president of the board but assigned to the business districts of the city, in which are situated the large retail and wholesale stores, hotels and important _ industrial establishments.

On November 5, 1901, he was elected to the position which he occupies today-recorder of deeds-and resigned his seat in select council. John Virdin, who was recorder and desired reelecticn, opposed him on the municipal league and union party tickets. Vare's vote was one hundred and thirty-six thousand, nine hundred and ninety-six. Virdin's, ninety-one thousand, three hundred and thirty­six, and the democrats secured less than eleven thousand. In No­vember, 1904, he was again chosen for the office by a vote of two hun­dred and eleven thousand and eighteen, the opposition getting but forty-two thousand, five hundred and twenty. Again in November, 1907, he was reelected by a vote of one hundred and forty­seven thousand and fifty-eight, the combined democratic and city party vote amounting to fifty-five thousand, three hun­dred and twenty-four. His election for the third time to this most influential and responsible office was without precedent. It had been regarded as a "one term" position, and Mr. Vare's signal victory was a tribute to his· able administration. That it was really significant and deserved was proven at a public dinner given in his honor in that year, when he was complimented by those who had dealings with his office upon his thorough business adminis­tration. A demonstration in his honor, as flattering as it was deserved, came on his return from Europe in 1908, when upwards of one thou­sand of his business and political neighbors and associates dined him on the sward at Essington. The testimonial was under the auspices of the South Philadelphia Business Men's Association and the ward political committees of the section. A huge tent had been erected on the lawn in which the banquet was served and speeches highly eulogistic were made by merchants and public men. Mayor Reyburn was among the city officials who were present and the

~,u.uuu a:z,. YI a.a:r::

the conduct of the recorder's office. He admitted it was admirably managed and: attributed it to the "unusual executive gifts" possessed by Recorder Vare. Mr. Waldo's testimonial will doubtless he voiced by those having dealings with the recorder's office. He has so expedited the handling of deeds and mortgages that trust compa­nies, conveyancers and real-estate agents, who were formerly com­pelled to wait months to have such instruments recorded, now have it done in as many weeks.

His work for South Philadelphia is household knowledge in that part of the city. Unhesitating credit is given him for securing the noble building at Broad and Jackson streets, which houses the

• Southern High and Manuel Training High School, the first sectional public high school in the city. The dedication was the most im­posing that ever attended a similar event and was due almost entirely to the interest and liberality of Recorder Vare. Qther modern pub­lic schools are monuments to his concern for the youth of the section.

Efforts of a quarter of a century to secure municipal appropria­tions for a bridge across the Schuylkill river at Passyunk avenue came to naught until Recorder Vare took hold of the undertaking and in­duced councils to appropriate a sufficient sum to complete the work. He has been f;qually energetic and successful in behalf of parks and playgrounds. One of his first achievements as select councilman was to secure an appropriation for the John Dickinson park of the first ward and later another sum for the Mifflin park in the thirty-ninth ward.

Of all his public work in behalf of South Philadelphia, there is none in which he takes greater pride than in the !,eague Island park and South Broad street plaza and boulevard. It was not until Mayor Reyburn's term that the city really awoke to the necessity and value of the public park and playground. Recorder Vare's ef­forts in behalf of League Island park and boulevard began years be­fore, thus again demonstrating his foresight and public spirit. He has been instrumental in securing large municipal appropriations for the work, which is being energetically pushed. In the course of probably three years Philadelphia will not have there a rival to Fair­mount Park in size and natural scenic beauty, but the city will have one of the most beautifully appointed municipal parks and boule- Bi<_ vards in the world. It is planned to have artistically arranged walks and driveways, artificial lakes providing boating and fishing in sum-mer and skating in winter, magnificent horticultural displays, superb electric effects, a great baseball plot and athletic field, a casino and music hall and other necessary buildings. The plaza

6/13/2018 Lovatt, George Ignatius, Sr. (1872-1958) - Philadelphia Architects and Buildings

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Lovatt, George Ignatius, Sr. (1872-1958) ARCHITECT

Add to My Archuect\­

Born: 1872, Died: 1958

www.phiiadelphiabuildings.org

George I. Lovatt, Sr., proved to be a formidable competitor for the considerable Catholic church work which was initiated in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Although Edwin Forrest Durang and Henn1. Dagtl designed a number of Catholic church and institutional buildings during this time, Durang's firm was inherited by his son F. Ferdinand Durang and during the 1930s moved to New York City, leaving Henry D. Dagit, George I. Lovatt, Sr., and the Hoffman-Henon firm to divide major Catholic commissions in the city.

Lovatt studied at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art during the academic terms 1890/91 and 1892/93. His first documented commission occurred as a result of the death of Adrian Worthington Smith, who had begun work on the Monastery of the Visitation in Wilmington, DE (now demolished). Following Smith's death in 1892, Lovati completed the convent and continued his studies at the PMSI at the same time. He does not appear in Philadelphia city directories until 1894 as an architect, with offices at 424 Walnut Street.

Lovatt's firm received both local and national honors, gleaning a commendation for the Church of the Most Precious Blood, 26th and Diamond streets, Philadelphia, in 1926 at the International Exhibition held in Barcelona, Spain. He followed this honor in 1930 by winning the Philadelphia Chapter of the AIA's gold medal for his Church of the Holy Child, Broad and Duncannon streets, Philadelphia. In 1927 he was joined in the firm by his son George I. Lovatt, Jr., but he did not retire until 1940.

Written by Sandra L. Tatman.

Clubs and Me1nbership Organizations

• Philadelphia Chapter, AIA

School Affiliations

• Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art

Philade!Qhia Architects and Building~ I About [ Particil:;!ating Institutions I Feedback I Search I Logout Website and System: Copyright© 2018 by The Athenaeum of Philadelphia. Data and Images: Copyright© 2018 by various contributing institutions. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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-

Biographical Dictionary of

Philadelphia Architects: 1700-1930

Sandra L. Tatman "

Roger W. Moss The Athenaeum

Philadelphia

G.K. HALL & CO., 70 LINCOLN STREET, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 1985

in

Biographical Dictionary of Philadelphia Architects 489

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY: Loos, , Architectural Designs. 4th ed. Phila.:

1396; Loos, Architectural Designs. 5th ed. Dover, DE: 1898; Loos, Illustrations. Phila.: 1901/ Presbyt. Ch. in the ?·S· Bd. of Ch. jfrection. Annual Report. Ph1la.: 1900, p.90, design no. 59.

st

LORT, JOHN (c.1752 - 1795). John Lort was a master builder elected to The carpenters' Company in 1773, the same year as his brief partnership with Thomas Nevell (q.v.). The partners were paid 47 pounds 13 shillings 10 pence for work performed at Carpenters' Hall that was then under construction. Lort is known to have been one of several carpenters who worked on the Library Company hall in 1790. His inventory included drawing instruments and a "Lot of Architect Books" valued at 2 pounds 12 shillings and 6 pence.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY: Hall; MCCCCP; Moss, Master Builders; Nevell Account Bk., Univ. of PA; Peterson, "Library Hall" p .13 5; Philadelphia wills, 1795:83. rm

LOVATT, GEORGE IGNATIUS, SR. (2/13/1872 - 9/5/1958). George I. Lovatt, sr., proved to be a formidable competitor for the considerable Catholic church work at the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Although E. F. Durang (q.v.) and Henry Dagit (q.v.) also designed Catholic church and institutional buildings during this time, E. F. Durang's firm was inherited by his son F. Ferdinand Durang (q.v.), who moved the office to New York City during the 1930s, leaving Henry D. Dagit and George I. Lovatt, Sr., as the major Catholic church architects in the city. Lovatt studied at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art during the school years 1890/91 and 1892/93. Perhaps his first commission was to finish the Monastery of the Visitation in Delaware after the death of Adrian W. Smith (q.v.) in 1892. During 1892 and 1893 he continued both his studies and the work on the Monastery, and first appears in the Philadelphia city directories and the PRERBG as an architect in 1894. In 1927 he was joined in the firm by his son, George Lovatt, Jr., but he did not retire until 1940.

Lovatt was a member of the T-Square Club, the AIA, and the Philadelphia Chapter of the AIA, for whom he served as president. In 1930 he received the award of the Philadelphia Chapter for his design for the Church of the Holy Child, at Broad and Duncannon streets in Philadelphia. He had already received commendation at the International Exhibition in Barcelona, Spain, in 1926 for his design for the Church of the Most Precious Blood, 28th & Diamond streets, in Philadelphia.

LIST OF PROJECTS: 1894 St. Patrick's Ch., parochial schl., 14th St. betw. French & King

sts., Wilmington, DE 1895 Alts. & adds., fire engine station into tenement hse., 3rd St. &

Washington Ave., Phila. Bldg., alts. to rear, 614 Fairmount Ave., Phila. Bldg., alts. & adds., new front, 616 Fairmount Ave., Phila. Dempsey, Michael, store, Broad & S. Marshall sts., Phila. Jones, W.J., res., Narberth, PA New Cathedral Cemetery, waiting rrns., gateways & lodge, Phila. St. Joseph's Industrial Sehl., alts. & adds. to old bldgs., Clayton,

DE St. Patrick's Ch., parochial schl., Wilmington, DE St. Joseph's Industrial·Schl., bldg., Clayrnont, DE St. Patrick's Ch., alts. & adds., Wilmington, DE St. Peter's Catholic Ch., bell tower, New Castle, DE Store, Marshall St. s. of Washington Ave., Phila. Coates, Marnie M., res & stable, Torresdale, Phila.

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490

1898

1899 1901

1902

1903

1904

1905

1906

1907

~08 1909

1910

1911

1912

1913 1914

Biographical Dictionary of Philadelphia Architects

Dempsey, M.A., alts. & adds. to store, Broad & Marshall sts., Phila, De Victor, Mr., res., Eddington, PA Hotel, Run Point, Atlantic City, NJ Lombardo & Co., residences (6), 63rd & Vine sts., Phila. Smith, W. Binkley, res., Bryn Mawr, PA Sacred Heart Ch., new add't'l. bldg., Phila. Thomas, John, res., 1709 S. Broad St., Phila. St. Anne's Ch. congregation, parochial schl., Wilmington, DE Convent of the Visitation, DE St. Catherine's Chapel, Reybold, DE St. Joseph's Ch., alts., Wilmington, DE St. Joseph's College, study hall, Montgomery, AL St. Paul's Parish, convent, Wilmington, DE St. Peter's Ch., rectory, Columbia, SC Dockstader, W.L., theatre, Market St. betw. 8th & 9th sts., Phila. Holy Trinity Ch., alts., 601-09 Spruce St., Phila. Monaghan, John J., res., Wilmington, DE O'Donnell, Mr., res., Sumter, SC St. Patrick's Ch., remdlg. int., Wilmington, DE St. Patrick's Parish, cathedral, W. State St., Harrisburg, PA Bldgs., 2312-16 S. Broad St., Phila. St. Mary's Ch., schl., York, PA St. Vincent's Home, int. adds. to east & west wings & new boiler

hse., nw 20th & Race sts., Phila. Cathedral, Harrisburg, PA Store & res., nw 52nd & Spruce sts., Phila. Ware, Wm. S., copper bays (2), repair roof, & int. alts., nw Broad &

Wolf sts., Phila. Gately & Fitzgerald, alts. & adds. to store, Trenton, NJ St. Patrick's Ch., basement, Norristown, PA St. Teresa's Ch., int. alts. & adds. toch., Broad & Catherine

sts., Phi la. Immaculate Conception Congregation, sanctuary & parish hse.,

Front & Allen sts., Phila. Mitchell, Jos., res., Ridley Park, Pa St. Mathias R.C Ch., ch. & rectory, Bala, PA Holy Cross Ch., ch., parochial schl., convent & rectory, Mt.

Airy Ave., Phila. Holy Saviour Ch., Norristown, PA Mitchell, Joseph, res., Ridley Park, PA St. Rita's of Cascia, 1154-62 S. Broad St., Phila. Fitzgerald, Thos. I., alts. & adds. to res., Lansdowne, PA Henderson, John J., alts. & adds. to res., Melrose Park, PA Immaculate Conception Ch., alts. & adds. to rectory, Front &

Canal sts., Phila. Our Lady of the Rosary Ch., convent, 63rd St. bel .

Callowhill St., Phila. Holy Child Ch., parochial schl., Broad & Duncannon sts., Phila. Holy Cross Ch., schl. & convent, Mt. Airy, Phila. Sacred Heart Sehl., parochial schl., Williamstown, PA St. Mary's Greek Catholic Ch., Trenton, NJ St. Matthew's Parish, rectory, Conshohocken, PA Trainer, Edward, garage, 220 Queen St., Phila. O'Hara, Geo. I., rectory, Bradley Beach, PA St. Edmund's Ch., 23rd & Mifflin sts., Phila. St. Edmund's Ch., Hamilton, Bermuda Holy Angels Ch., parish hse., 6934 N. Old York Rd., Phila.­Osborn, Lester J., theatre, stores & apts., Beach Haven, NJ Sacred Heart Ch., ch. & rectory, Cornwall, PA Sisters of St. Joseph, alts. & adds. to res., Conshohocken, PA St. Gertrude's Ch., ch. & rectory, Lebanon, PA St. Mary's Memorial Hosp., hosp., Scranton, PA

Biographical Dictionary of Philadelphia Architects

st. Mary's Ch., alts. & adds. to ch., Pheonixville, PA Watson, M.L., apt. hse., Broad & Ellsworth sts., Phila. Holy Child Ch., alts. & adds. to ch., Broad & Duncannon sts.,

Phil a. st. Gertrude's Ch., convent, W. Conshohocken, PA St. Gregory's Ch., alts., 5188 Media St., Phila. st. John's Ch., alts. & adds. to ch., Collingswood, NJ St. Mathews Ch., ch. & rectory, Conshohocken, PA St. Raphael's Ch., schl., 85th St. & Tinicum Ave., Phila. :orpus Christi Ch., rectory, 29th St. & Allegheny Ave., Phila. fitzgerald, T.M., store, 1714 Walnut St., Phila.

491

1ichel Roast Beef Co., alts. & adds. to restaurant, Delaware Ave. & Dock St., Phil a.

)ur Lady of the Rosary Ch., alts. & adds. to parochial schl., 63rd & Callowhill sts., Phila.

lt. Ann's Ch., Wildwood, NJ ,t. Mathia's Ch., parochial schl., Bala, PA ;allagher, John J., alts. & adds. to res., Old Lancaster Rd.,

Overbrook, Phila. ~alone, A., office bldg., Conshohocken, PA laugh & Sons, storage shed, Morris St. & Delaware River, Phila. loly Child Ch., alts., 5220-28 N. Broad St., Phila. ,ester Sehl Bd., schls., Lester & Essington, PA ,t. Lawrence's Ch., parish bldgs., Highland Park, PA ~lsh, Jas. E., alts. to res., 333 S. 18th St., Phila. ssumption Ch., Hackettstown, NJ oly Child Ch., rectory, 5220-28 N. Broad St., Logan, Phila. acred Heart Ch., restoration, Phoenixville, PA t. Anthony De Padua Ch., alts. & adds. to ch., Fitzwater St. &

Grays Ferry Rd., Phila. t. Bartholomew Ch., schl., Wissinoming, Phila. t. Laurence, 30 st. Laurence Rd., Highland Park, PA helen, T.J. & J.R., alts. & adds. to res. into apt. hse., se 17th &

Summer sts., Phila. anhattan Bldg., se 4th & Walnut sts., Phila. isters of the Visitation, monastery, Bethesda, MD t. Monica's Ch., alts., 17th & Ritner sts., Phila. t. Rita's Ch., alts. & adds. to rectory, Broad & Ellsworth

sts., Phila. Lanerch Country Club, alts. & adds. to clubhse., Llanerch, PA :fice bldg., 311-13 Walnut St., Phila. 1r Lady of Good Counsel Ch., lyceum, Moorestown, NJ :. Bridget's Ch. & Rectory, oratory, 3669 Midvale Ave., Phila. :. Ursula's Ch., parochial schl., Bethlehem, PA ,ranti, Dominic, 1721 Walnut St., Phila.

Edmund's Ch., 2100 Snyder Ave., Phila. :. Rita's Ch., alts. to office bldg., nw Broad & Federal sts.,

Phil a • . essed Sacrament Cathedral, Altoona, PA ,vatt, T.B. & Sons, alts. & adds. to bldg., 222 s. 8th St., Phila . .. Ann's Ch., parochial schl., Lansford, PA .. Philimena's Ch., rectory, Baltimore Ave., Lansdowne, PA iy Child Ch., schl. bldg., 5220-28 N. Broad St., Phila.

of the Holy Angels, passage betw. rectory & schl., Oak Lane, Phila.

Peter's Ch., rectory, Wilmington, DE anerch Country Club, alts. & adds., Chester Pike at Manon, PA

Andrew's Ch., Drexel Hill, PA Ignatius Ch., schl. bldg., Centralia, PA Lawrence Ch., adds. to parochial schl., Highland Park, PA Ursula's Ch., convent & rectory, Bethlehem, PA

~d Shepherd Parochial Sehl., Phila.

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492 Biographical Dictionary of Philadelphia Architects

St. Joseph's H.S., alts., 727 Pine St., Phila. St. Mary's Ch., schl., Lebanon, PA

1929 Holy Child Ch., Broad & Duncannon sts., Phila. St. Joseph's Catholic Asylum, alts., swc 17th & Spruce sts., Phila.

LOCATION OF DRAWINGS AND PAPERS: AIA Archives; Athenaeum of Phila.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY: Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals; T-Sguare: 1900/01, 1916, 1929, 1930; Webster, p.16, 139, 375 (n.521.

st

LOVE, JOHN B. (fl. 1882 - 18941. John B. Love is listed as either an architect or draftsman in the Philadelphia city directories between 1883 and 1894. He attended the Franklin Institute Drawing School for Winter term, 1883. st

LOVE, s. ARTHUR, JR. (7/1/1890 - ?). S. Arthur Love, Jr., was born in Philadelphia and attended Central Manual Training School before graduati, from the University of Pennsylvania with his B.S. in Architecture in 191; and his M.S. in 1913. He also attended the T-Sguare Club atelier for sor three years and traveled in Europe for one year. He then worked in Philadelphia and New York City architectural offices for approximately t, years before opening his own office in Philadelphia in 1917. He is list, as an architect from 1914 to 1918 in the Philadelphia city directories a, again from 1926 to 1930. By 1962, when George Koyl compiled the America, Architects Directory, Love was maintaining an office in Norwood, PA, and a member of the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the AIA.

LIST OF PROJECTS: 1925 English Village, Wynnewood, PA (developed by his brother Donald Lav, 1926 Martin, Luther, res., Morristown, NJ 1927 Alts. & adds., 1324 Walnut St., Phila.

Shoyer, Fred J., alts. & adds., 1632 Walnut St., Phila. Store, 2012 Chestnut St., Phila.

1929 Cherry Bldg. Corp., loft bldgs., 1016-18 Cherry St., Phila. 1930 Kent Automatic Garages, garage, 15th St. betw. Walnut & Locust sts.

Phil a.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY: Bk. of the Sehl., p.170; Koyl, p.432; UPA Gen. Alumni Cat. (19171, p.360. st

LOWERY, JOSEPH F. (fl. 1898 - 1941). Joseph F. Lowery is noted as an architect in Philadelphia city directories and telephone books for the years 1899 to 1941. During that time the office addresses given for him are 1012 Land Title Building (1924-1927), 102 South Broad Street (1929-1935/36), and 2928 North Camac Street (1936-1941).

LIST OF PROJECTS: 1924 Schneider, Frank A., alts. & adds. to res., Birch Ave. bel. Highlan

Ave., Bala, PA 1925 Cashman & Gallagher, residences (21, Overbrook, Phila.

Malloy res., alts. & adds., 15 E. Mermaid La., Phila. 1926 Gallagher, John M., (3) stores & apts., Elmwood & Massey sts., Phil 1927 Gallagher, Timothy, res. & garage, 7100 Overbrook Ave., Phila. 1928 Jordon, Eugene, res. & garage, Woodbine Ave., Merion, PA 1929 Blizard, J.F., alts. & adds. to res., 6836 Anderson St., Phila.

Gallagher, T.F., residences (271, 65th & Elmwood Ave., Phila. Residences (241, Yeadon, PA st

LOWNES, WILLIAM (fl. 1770s). William Lownes was a elected to The Carpenters' Company prior to 1768. he was Philadelphia City Assessor and was probably

master builder From 1773 through 177 actively following hl

A P P E N D I X 2

Sources used for Criterion (d)

uncia tion from the M aesta al Gallery)

ITALIAN ART by

,, ANDRE CHASTEL

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY

PETER AND LINDA MURRAY

Icon Editions

Harper & Row, Publishers

New York, Evanston, San Francisco, London

I

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VENICE

early works could throw a proper light on tbis. His main aim was to react against the abuses caused by decoration, by narrowing the limits of the problem, by defining according to good Antique usage the value of the various elements-pediments, columns, arches, cornices-and by using an appro­priate motif in preference to a haphazard accumulation. This search for a sensitive and carefully thought out effect, which is one of the elements of Mannerist refinement, is linked to two far greater preoccupations: an internal harmony of the parts which will establish the edifice as a thing of beauty in itself, deliberately created ( and in this Palladio shows himself heir to the

FIG. 3r. S. Francesco de/la Vigna, Venice, by Palladio. Design of the JG.fade (after R. Wittkower) showing the two interlocked temple fronts.

thought and even to the philosophy of Alberti); the importance of the rela­tionship between this harmonious, geometric form with the place, the atmo­sphere, and nature itself, according to Venetian tradition. Villas are raised on a base which blends them with their setting, and their colonnades create effects of light and shadow comparable to those of the palaces on the Lagoons. But Palladio must not be considered merely in relation to purely Venetian problems, but in relation to the Renaissance as a whole.

One of the great problems was to ally the Antique temple and the church. Alberti, in his fai;ades, ranged from the triumphal arch motif (Rimini) to the portico (S. Sebastiano, Mantua), and finally CQ!!!.bined the two (S. Andrea, Mantua). A different solution was reached by Peruzzi at Carpi (1515), where a giant order corresponds to the full height of the nave, and a smaller order to the aisles. This harmonious arrangement occurs in Palladio who adapts a true prostyle temple front in S. Francesco della Vigna (1562), and again

279

0

17th and 18th Century Art BAROQUE PAINTING

SCULPTURE·ARCHITECTURE

JULIUS S. HELD Professor Emeritus, Barnard College, Columbia University

DONALD POSNER Professor, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University

PRENTICE-HALL, INC., Englewood Cliffs, N.J. and HARRY N. ABRAMS, INC., New York

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the Seventeenth Century Italy • zn

"· viJlWv 4'1&v INTRODUCTION

The cradle of the Baroque was Italy, and the ar­tistic capital of Italy was Rome. As time went on, other countries made their bid for leadership, but toward the end of the sixteenth century and in the first decades of the seventeenth, Rome attracted artists from all over Europe, as if by magic. To have made a mark in Rome was then for artists' reputations what favorable reviews in the leading cultural centers are to actors and musicians today. It must have been a source of justifiable pride for Rubens when in 1606 he obtained, over the heads of all Roman artists, the commission to decorate the high altar of the new church of the Oratorian brothers. Virtually every great artist of the Ba­roque in Rome had come from elsewhere. Carlo Maderno, Caravaggio, and later Francesco Bor­romini came from northern Italy, Annibale Car­racci from Bologna, Pietro da Cortona from Tus­cany, Gianlorenzo Bernini from Naples, Nicolas Poussin from France; yet Rome transformed them all, as they transformed her.

Many factors had contributed to this situation, but it was essentially connected with the Counter Reformation and the renewed vigor of the Roman papacy engendered by that movement. The Coun-

ter Reformation had been launched in the last sessions of the Council of Trent, when under the guidance of the Jesuits the Church began to as­sume a militant posture. Starting with Pope Pius V (1566-72), the chair of St. Peter's was occupied by men of great energy and vision. Pius him­self adopted the Tridentine Profession of Faith (1566), formulated the Roman Breviary (1568), and reformed the Curia. He also condemned ancient statues as idola antiquorum. His succesM

sor, Pope Gregory XIII (1572-85), known for his calendar reform, was a strong supporter of the Jesuits. The church of II Gesu, the first major work of art sponsored by the Company of Jesus,~ was built while he was pope. Sixtus V (1585-90) > started a complete modernization of Rome by cut-ting Jong straight thoroughfares through its old quarters. Armenini, writing in 1586, noted the amazing increase in the construction of churches, chapels, and monasteries. 1

Rome undoubtedly gained from the progress Catholicism made all over Europe. With the conversion and absolution of Henry IV (1595), France had again become a Catholic power. Flanders, Bavaria, and Austria were firmly in the

Italy in the Seventeenth Century / 21

impress man, the Church during the Counter Reformation furthered immeasurably the form­ing of a new artistic ideal in which all arts con­tributed to the creation ofa comprehensive work of art.

The principle laid down by the Church for the treatment of religious art remained valid-\vith local modi fications-\rherever Counter Refonna-

ARCHITECTURE

The first great church built for the Jesuit Order would have had a place in history for that reason alone. II Gesii, started by Giacomo Barozzi, called Vignola (1507-1573) in 1568, offers even more: a milestone in the history of church architecture, "it has perhaps exerted a wider influence than any other church of the last four hundred years." 11

II Gesii owed this success largely to the satis­factory solution of an old problem: to integrate a central plan of building with a longitudinal one (fig. 14). The central plan had been a favorite idea of the High Renaissance, but the longitudinal one had the weight of tradition behind it-and tradition was important to the men of the Coun­ter Reformation. Compared to a fifteenth-century structure that had had similar aims, Sant'Andrea

)

in Mantua, designed by Alberti, Vignola'schurch / is much more unified, with a clear subordination

of all parts to a leading motif. The opening,; of I'

)

the chapels hardly affect the impression ofa com-2 pact space made by the nave beneath its huge

barrel vault. The nave of II Gesii is long enough to be felt as a longitudinal room, and short enough to make the visitor at once aware of the light area of the crossing under its soaring dome. A key role in the combination of the two systems, the longitudinal plan of the nave and the central plan of the dome, is played by the last bay, which, belonging to both, ties one to the other.

24

tion Catholicism held sway: Italy, Spain (and her colonies), France, Flanders, southern Germany, and Austria. Other types of subject matter, how­ever, were developed during the Baroque period and flourished in the non-Catholic countries, especially the Netherlands. These developments in secular art will be treated in their appropriate context.

The design of the fac;ade of II Gesii (fig. 15) was not entirely new, but Vignola 1 and even more so his successor Giacomo della Porta, introduced a number of innovations that strongly affected the subsequent evolution of Baroque church fac;ades. Like Alberti's fac;ade of Santa Maria Novella in Florence more than a century earlier, that of II Gesll consists of two stories, the upper being nar­rower than the lower. The difference is masked by two volutes bracing the upper story on either side. A wide pediment crowns this composition. A fac;ade of this type had been built by Guido Guidetti for Santa Caterina <lei Funari in Rome (fig. 16) only four years before II Gest) was begun. Yet in Guidetti's fac;ade an unbroken entablature kept the two stories completely apart; in II Gesii all the major horizontal elements were broken in order to pennit the vertical accents to continue unchecked from one level to the ne"t. This verticalism-all the more important as the fac;ade is as wide as it is high-marks the central bay particularly. In Santa Caterina dei Funari the pediment of the main portal remained below the horizontal division. At II Gesii, a twin pedi­ment above the central door overlaps the socle zone of the upper story, and a wall strip the width of the central bay continues it into the crowning pediment. In the earlier church, furthermore, all the lateral hays. on both levels, are treated in the

',

same way. In II Gest), those next to the central bay are marked by niches (and by doors on the ground floor), whil';, the outermost bays below (and the areas that correspond to them above) are free of any embellishment. Thus a kind of hier­archy is established in which a eowerful, domi­nant center is accompanied by subsidiary sections that differ among themselves in rank and value. This hierarchy has been further stressed by one crucial idea. The pilasters on the extreme bays are in a plane slightly behind that of the pilasters on the intermediate bays, while the latter, in turn, remain behind the columns framing the central portal. The central area, prominent already through its size and decor, thus literally stands out because of the slight forward motion of the whole fa~ade from the sides to the center. The main gate welcomes the visitor by seemingly

2fi

16. Gl'JL>O GlTJDETTI.

Fa~·ade. S. C:a1erina dei Ftnrnri. Begun 1564. Rome

1noving out toward him, an idea that was elabo­rated imaginatively in later phases of the Baroque.

At II Gesii, admittedly, this forward motion is somewhat hesitant and the relationship of the bays to each other not without ambiguities. In Carlo Maderno's (1556-1629) fa~ade of~ Susanna (fig. 17) there is no longer any ambiguity. The nearly equal balance between height and width at II Gesu is replaced by a marked prepon­derance of the v~rtical, suggesting an upward surge of energies. Despite the relative narrowness of the fa~ade, the bays are clearly distinguished from each other. The outer bays below, shrunk to near insignificance, are framed by shallow pilasters. The intermediate bays, stepped forward to be flush with these pilasters, are framed by columns below, pilasters above; on both levels these bays contain niches with figural sculpture.

The main bay is also framed by columns below and pilasters above, but they have again been moved forward by about half the depth nf a col­umn. Both the forward and the upward motion of Maderno's fa,;ade have more zest, as a result, than that at 11 Gesu. While each bay is distinguishable from the next, Maderno managed to enhance the nobility of the central bay by making it appear that it alone is framed by paired columns or-on the upper level-pilasters.

The fa,;ade of Santa Susanna is remarkable for the clarity of its organization, which is all the more astonishing as it is richly covered with plastic decor making for a vivid interplay of light and shade. A work of surprisingly harmonious character, it seems to have revived smne artistic principles of the High Renaissance. With its density of forms and its suggestion of motion in depth and height, it replaces the static equilib­rium of the Renaissance with a new sense of dy-

t 17. CARLO ~1 ADER:,.;O.

Fat;adc, S. Susanna. 1597-1603. Rome

JAMES HITCHCOCK

HISTORY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

From the Apostolic Age to the Third Millenium

IGNATIUS PRESS SAN FRANCISCO

Reform and Counter-Reform

Lutherans, and Anglicans in the first group, Calvinists and others in the second-a division that profoundly affected the arts.

Thus Zwinglians, and after them Calvinists, smashed statues and stained­glass windows, whitewashed the inside of churches, and allowed no music except the unaccompanied chanting of Psalms. Rembrandt was practically the only Calvinist artist of note, and biblical scenes were practically the only acceptable form of Protestant religious art, although even they were not permitted in churches. In this as in other things, Luther proved to be the most conservative of the Reformers, retaining vestments, candles, altar crosses, paintings, instrumental music, even, for a time, incense and Latin. Swedish Lutherans especially retained a particularly "high" kind of liturgy.

Catholic churches, on the other hand, were huge, lavishly decorated build­ings that, along with being places of worship, were in effect museums of painting and sculpture. Trent enjoined an austerity in art and music thought appropriate to the spirit ofreform; however, appropriately, the Catho­lic Reformation inspired great artistic creations (including drama), since one of the most profound differences with Protestantism was the Catho­lic mediation of the spiritual through the material.

This sacramentalism justified the dazzling new expressions of art and music called the Baroque, a term of uncertain origin. (Because of the Baroque's departures from the ideal symmetries of classical art, it may have derived from a Portuguese word for a twisted pearl.) The Baroque was the pre­eminent art of the Catholic Reformation, uniting doctrinal orthodoxy with dramatically new stylistic forms. Like the organization of the Jesu­its, it was a major example of the highly innovative, in some ways even revolutionary, creativity of the sixteenth-century Church.

The Baroque spread as far as Latin America and Japan, but it flour­ished best in Europe, its exuberance stemming from religion but made possible by the aristocratic n1entality that disdained economic pru­dence and spent lavishly as a sign of wealth and generosity. It was used also in palaces and public buildings and at one extreme could shade into a mere reveling in sensual splendor.

Both lay and ecclesiastical princes, especially the great papal families of the age-Medici, Farnese, Borghese, Barberini-commissioned artistic works that proclaimed their piety but also their importance. Typically, the fa,ade of St. Peter's in Rome, completed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (d. 1680), announced not only its patron saint but Paul V Borghese (1605-1621), one of the popes who brought it to completion. Bernini's famous statue The Ecstasy of St. Teresa was in a chapel whose patrons, the Cor­onari family, looked down on her from the box of a theatre, and it embod­ied the ambiguity of so much Renaissance art: a powerful dramatization

297

Protestant Divisions

The Tridentine Spirit

The Baroque

Patrons

JIO

Baroque

History of the Catholic Church

Jesus' display of His bleeding but compassionate Heart was an invi­tation to repentance, one of the numerous contemporary antidotes to Jansenist pessimism (below). In time, it became one of the most pop­ular of all devotions, with the image of the Sacred Heart commonly on display in churches and private homes and many Catholics making a novena of nine first Fridays in reparation for sin. The custom of the "holy hour" also originated with Margaret Mary.

The Baroque style was the last great manifestation of predominantly religious art in the history of Western civilization: its visual expres­sions mainly inspired by the Catholic Reformation, its music having both Catholic and Protestant form.

Baroque architecture came relatively late to the German lands, but there it had its last, and in some ways most spectacular, flowering, for example in Salzburg and the great abbey churches of Bavaria and Austria.

Baroque music was often religious, as in the work of William Byrd (d. 1623), a Catholic who wrote music for the Anglican liturgy; the Italian-French Jean Baptiste Lully (d. 1687); and the Italian priest Anto­nio Vivaldi (d. 1741). The Baroque in music culminated in the Aus­trian Catholics Franz Josef Hayden (d. 1809) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (d. 1791) and in the Lutherans Johann Sebastian Bach (d. 1750) and George Frideric Handel (d. 1759), who occasionally wrote music for Catholic patrons.

At its height, Baroque exuberance sometimes crossed a line into a theatricality that threatened to compromise its spiritual purpose, with the worshippers as spectators, some distance from the sanctuary. Some liturgies were compared to the new secular genre of opera, combining the elements of text, music, "scenery", "costumes", and drarnatic reen­actments. Some incorporated the court ceremonial of the monarchy, such as bishops in procession wearing fifty-foot trains held up by ser­vants. (De Sales resolved to pray the rosary during such liturgies, so as to make profitable use of the time.) The Holy See forbade translations of the Mass into the vernacular even for the private use of worship­pers, a ban that was not consistently enforced but was in effect for tv.ro centuries.

For reasons that are not clear, while the tradition of religious music continued strong, religious painting declined in the later seventeenth cen­tury. The Fleming Peter Paul Rubens (d. 1640) continued the Baroque paradox of sacred themes executed in exuberant, even worldly, ways, and the Spaniard Bartolome Esteban Murillo (d. 1682), an austere and devout man, was the last major religious painter in an unbroken tradition that extended back to the Middle Ages. A century later-uncharacteristic of his age-Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (d. 1770) was the last major artist to paint religious subjects.

Baroque Spanish statues were often painted in gaudy colors, with the sufferings of Christ and the martyrs carried to the furthest point

of graphic de rounded by p: Jesus was tab image of a de

Some great de Vega (d. French playw tation of Chris, devout Jansen instruction ar:

The Englisl verted success necessity of a: of Scripture. ' although pert

Unforeseen a· into one of t1 uting in no s1 state in Franc Augustine am of the relatior resolved at T1 tested Catholi, Catholicism.

The Flemis holding what on Calvinist p1 theologians ch cans countere( Pope Paul V, tions were wi

The Spanis mer perhaps ti taught that Ge to aid their s Berulie and m will as severe! of predestinat

The Flemish I emphasized ti that had been was taken to i continued to l lie heresy.

Reason and Revolution

of graphic detail. In Bavaria and Austria, statues of saints were sur- 3 r r rounded by plaster clouds, and on Ascension Day in Italy, an image of Jesus was taken up to the ceiling of the church on a wire, while an image of a dove descended on the same wire on Pentecost.

Some great writers remained devout believers, like the Spaniard Lope de Vega (d. 1635), who wrote plays on religious subjects, and the French playwrights Pierre Corneille (d. 1684), who translated the imi­tation of Christ, and Jean Racine (d. 1699), who was close to the ultra­devout Jansenists. The Jesuits continued to use drama as a n1eans of instruction and inspiration in their schools.

The English poet John Dryden (d. 1700) was raised a Puritan, con­verted successively to Anglicanism and Catholicism, and defended the necessity of an infallible Church to guard against false understandings of Scripture. The poet Alexander Pope ( d. 17 44) was also a Catholic, although perhaps a merely nominal one.

Unforeseen at its peak, the glorious French Catholic revival evolved Augustinianism into one of the greatest crises in the history of the Church, contrib-uting in no small measure to the eventual wreck of both church and state in France. The crisis began because of the divergences between Augustine and Aquinas on the fundamental but extremely subtle issue of the relationship between grace and free will, which was not entirely resolved at Trent. In the century following, it became the most con-tested Catholic doctrine--the central issue in seventeenth-century French

Catholicism. The Flemish theologian Michael Baius (d. 1589) was condemned for

holding what seemed like an extreme Augustinian view that bordered on Calvinist predestination. Toward the end of the sixteenth century,Jesuit theologians charged that Dominicans slighted free will, while the Domini­cans countered that the Jesuits did not fully recognize the need for grace. Pope Paul V ordered an end to the dispute, decreeing that both posi­tions were within the bounds of Catholic orthodoxy.

The Spanish Jesuits Suarez and Luis de Molina (d. 1600)-the for­mer perhaps the most influential theologian of the seventeenth century­taught that God foresaw free human choice and gave graces to individuals to aid their salvation but they could freely reject those graces. But Berulle and many of his disciples were Augustinians in seeing the human will as severely impaired by sin and holding a version of the doctrine

of predestination.

The Flemish bishop Cornelius Jansen (d 1638), in his book Augustine, Jansenism emphasized that God was remote and inscrutable, an understanding that had been particularly strong since the time of Ockham and that ,vas taken to its furthest point by Calvin. For two centuries, Jansenism continued to be the single most influential and tenacious modern Catho-

lic heresy.

SECOND EDITION

A Survey of the Major Visual Arts

from the Dawn of History to the Present Day

PRENTICE - HALL. INC., ENGLEWOOD CL I FF S. N. J.,

and H A R R Y N. A B R A i\1 S . I :-,.i C . , N E W Y O R K

6 THE BAROQUE

IN IT ALY AND GERMANY

Baroque has been the term used by art historians for almost a century to designate the dominant style of the period 1600-1750. Its original meaning-"irregular, contorted, grotesque"-is now largely superseded. It is generally agreed that the new style was born in Rome during the final years of the sixteenth century. What remains under dispute is whether the Baroque is the final phase of the Renaissance, or an era distinct from both Renaissance and modern. We have chosen the first alternative, while admitting that a good case can be made for the second. Which of the two we adopt is perhaps less important than an understanding of the factors that must enter into our decision. And here we run into a series of paradoxes. Thus it has been claimed that the Baroque style expresses the spirit of the Counter Refor­mation; yet the Counter Reformation, a dynamic move­ment of self-renewal within the Catholic Church, had already done its work by 1600-Protestantism was on the defensive, some important territories had been re­captured for the old faith, and neither side any longer had the power to upset the new balance. The princes of the Church who supported the growth of Baroque art were known for worldly splendor rather than piety. Be­sides, the new style penetrated the Protestant North so quickly that we should guard against overstressing its Counter Reformation aspect. Equally problematic is the assertion that Baroque is "the style of absolutism," re­flecting the centralized state ruled by an autocrat of un­limited powers. Although absoluti~m reached its climax during the reign of Louis XIV in the later seventeenth century, it had been in the making since the 1520s (under Francis I in France, and the Medici dukes in Tuscany). Moreover, Baroque art flourished in bourgeois Holland no less than in the absolutist monarchies; and the style officially sponsored under Louis XIV was a notably sub­dued, classicistic kind of Baroque. We encounter similar difficulties when we try to relate Baroque art to the science and philosophy of the period. Such a link did exist in the Early and High Renaissance: an artist then could also be a humanist and a scientist. But during the

seventeenth century, scientific and philosophical thought became too complex, abstract, and systematic for him to· share; gravitation, calculus, and Cogito, ergo sum could not stir his imagination. All of this means that Baroque art is not simply the result of religious, politi­cal, or intellectual developments. Interconnections surely existed, of course, but we do not yet understand them very well. Until we do, let us think of the Baroque style as one among other basic features-the newly fortified Catholic faith, the absolutist state, and the new role of science-that distinguish the period 1600-1750 from what had gone before.

ROME

Around l 600 Rome became the fountainhead of the Baroque, as it had of the High Renaissance a century be­fore, by gathering artists from other regions to perform challenging new tasks. The papacy patronized art on a large scale, with the aim of making Rome the most beautiful city of the Christian world "for the greater glory of God and the Church." This campaign had be­gun as early as 1585; the artists then on hand were late Mannerists of feeble distinction, but it soon attracted ambitious younger masters, especially from Northern Italy. These talented men created the new style.

Caravaggio

Foremost among these northerners was a painter of genius, called Caravaggio after his birthplace near Milan (1573-1610), who in 1597-98 did several monu­mental canvases for a chapel in the church of S. Luigi <lei Francesi, among them The Calling of St. Matthew (colorplate 75). This extraordinary picture is remote from both Mannerism and the High Renaissance; its only ante­cedent is the "North Italian realism'' of artists like Savoldo (see fig. 584). But Caravaggio's realism is such that a new term, "naturalism," is needed to distinguish it from

586. FRANCESCO PRlMATICCIO. Stucco Figures. c. 1541-45. Fontainebleau

ingenuity and skill, and to charm us with the grace of his figures. The allegorical significance of the design is simply a pretext for this display of virtuosity. When he tells us, for instance, that Neptune and Earth each have a bent and a straight leg to signify mountains and plains, we can only marvel at the divorce of form from content. Despite his boundless admiration for Michelangelo, Cellini's elegant figures on the saltcellar are as elon­gated, smooth, and languid as Parmigianino's (see color­plate 65). Parmigianino also strongly influenced Fran­cesco Primaticcio, Cellini's rival at the court of Francis I. A man of many talents, Primaticcio designed the interior decoration of some of the main rooms in the royal chil.teau of Fontainebleau, combining painted scenes and a richly sculptured stucco framework. The section shown in figure 586 obviously caters to the same aristocratic taste that admired Cellini's saltcellar. Although the four maid­ens are not burdened with any specific allegorical signifi­cance-their role recalls the nudes on the Sistine Ceiling­they perform a task for which they seem equally ill-fitted: they reinforce the piers that sustain the ceiling. These willowy caryatids epitomize the studied nonchalance of second-phase Mannerism.

Giovanni Bologna

Cellini, Primaticcio, and the other Italians employed by Francis I made Mannerism the dominant style in mid­sixteenth-century France, and their influence went far

454 / MANNERISM

beyond the royal court. It must have reached a gifted young sculptor from Douai, Jean de Boulogne (1529-1608), who went to Italy about 1555 for further training and stayed to become, under the Italianized name of Giovanni Bologna, the most important sculptor in Flor­ence during the last third of the century. His over-lifesize marble group, The Rape of the Sabine Woman (figs. 587, 588), won particular acclaim, and still has its place of honor near the Palazzo Vecchio. The subject, drawn from the legends of ancient Rome, seems an odd choice for statuary; the city's founders, an adventurous band of men from across the sea, so the story goes, tried vainly to find wives among their neighbors, the Sabines, and re­sorted at last to a trick: having invited the.entire Sabine tribe into Rome for a peaceful festival, they fell upon them with arms, took the women away by force, and thus ensured the future of their race. Considering the nature of the theme, Giovanni Bologna's work tempts us to cite Samuel Johnson's famous remark on women preachers {who reminded him of a dog walking on its hind legs): "It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all." Actually, the artist may not deserve such ridicule, for he designed the group with no specific subject in mind, to silence those critics who doubted his ability as a monumental sculptor in marble. He selected what seemed to him the most difficult feat, three figures of contrasting character united in a common action. Their identities were disputed among the learned connoisseurs of the day, who finally settled on the Rape of the Sabine Woman as the most suitable title. Here, then, is another artist who is noncommittal about subject matter, although his unconcern had a different motive from Veronese's. GioH vanni Bologna's self-imposed task was to carve in marble, on a massive scale, a sculptural composition that was to be seen not from one but from all sides; this had hitherto been attempted only in bronze and on a much smaller scale (see figs. 529, 531). He has solved this purely formal problem, but only by insulating his group from the world of human experience. These figures, spiral­ing upward as if confined inside a tall, narrow cylinder, perform a well-rehearsed choreographic exercise the emo­tional meaning of which remains obscure. We admire their discipline but we find no trace of genuine pathos.

ARCHITECTURE

The concept of Mannerism as a period style, we recall, had been coined for painting. We have encountered little difficulty in applying it to sculpture. Can it usefully be extended to architecture as well? And if so, what qualities must we look for? These questions bave arisen only recently, so it is not surprising that we cannot yet answer them very precisely. Some buildings, to be sure, would be called Mannerist by almost everyone today; but this does not give us a viable definition of Mannerism as an architectural period style. Such a structure is the Uffizi in

f

---- --·- ~., .... "'"'55,u \.u.5 • JO'.:JJ· ya:san s mspirauon 1s not far to seek: the "tired" scroll brackets and the peculiar combination of column and wall have their source in the vestibule of the Laurentian Library (on page 431 we cited Vasari's praise for Michelangelo's un· orthodox use of the classical vocabulary). Yet his design lacks the sculptural power and expressiveness of its model; rather, the Uffizi loggia forms a screen as weight· less as the fa,:ade of the Pazzi Chapel (see fig. 501). What is tense in Michelangelo's design becomes merely am­biguous-the architectural members seem as devoid of energy as the human figures of second-phase Mannerism, and their relationships as studiedly "artificial." The same is true of the courtyard of the Palazzo Pitti, by Bartolom­meo Ammanati (fig. 590 ), despite its display of muscular· ity. Here the three-story scheme of superimposed orders, derived from the Colosseum, has been overlaid with an extravagant pattern of rustication that "imprisons" the columns, reducing them to an oddly passive role. These welts disguise rather than enhance the massiveness of the masonry, the overall corrugated texture making us think of the fancies of a pastry cook.

Palladio

If this is Mannerism in architecture, can we find it in the work of Andrea Palladio (1518-80), the greatest architect of the later sixteenth century, second in im­portance only to Michelangelo? Unlike Vasari, who was a painter and historian as well as an architect (his artists' Lives provide the first coherent account of Italian Ren· aissance art), or Ammanati, who was a sculptor· architect, Palladio stands in the tradition of the humanist and theoretician Leone Battista Alberti. Although his career centered on his native town of Vicenza, his build· ings and theoretical writings soon brought him inter­national status. Palladio insisted that architecture must be governed both by reason and by certain universal rules that were perfectly exemplified by the buildings of the ancients. He thus shared Alberti's basic outlook and his firm faith in the cosmic significance of numerical ratios (see page 390 ). They differed in how each man related theo1y and practice. With Alberti, this relationship had been loose and flexible, whereas Palladio believed quite literally in practicing what he preached. His architectural treatise is consequently more practical than Alberti's-this helps to explain its huge success-while his buildings are linked more directly with his theories. It has even been said that Palladio designed only what was, in his view, sanctioned by ancient precedent. If the results are not necessarily classic in style, we may ca11 them "classicistic" (to denote a conscious striving for classic qualities); this is indeed the usual term for both Palladio's work and theoretical attitude.

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587, 588. GIOVANNI BOLOGNA. The Rape of the Sabine Woman. Completed 1583. Marble,

height 13' 6". Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence

589. GIORGIO VASAR!. Loggia of the Uffizi, Florence (view from the Arno). Begun 1560

MANNERISM / 455

for both beauty and utility. In any case, the porches al the Villa Rotonda, beautifully correlated with the walls behind, are an organic part of his design. They lend the structure an air of serene dignity and festive grace that still appeals to us today.

The facade of S. Giorgio Maggiore in Venice (fig. 593), of about the same date as the Villa Rolanda, adds to the same effect a new sumptuousness and complexity. Pal­ladio's problem here was how to create a classically in­tegrated fac;ade for a basilican church. He surely knew Albcrti's solution (S. Andrea in Mantua; see fig. 520), a temple front enclosing a triumphal-arch motif; but this design, although impressively logical and compact, did not fit the cross section of a basilica, and really circum­vented the problem. Palladio-again following what he believed to be ancient precedent-found a different an­swer: he superimposed a tall, narrow temple front on an­other low and wide one to reflect the different heights of nave and aisles. Theoretically, it was a perfect solution. In practice, however, he found that he could not keep the two systems as separate as his classicistic conscience demanded, and still integrate them into a harmonious whole. This conflict makes ambiguous. those parts of the design that have, as it were, a dual allegiance; this might be interpreted as a Mannerist quality. The plan (fig. 594), too, suggests a duality: the main body of the church is strongly centralized-the transept is as long as the nave­but the longitudinal axis reasserts itself in the separate compartments for the main altar and the chapel beyond.

593. ANDREA PALLADIO. S. Giorgio Maggiore, Venice. Designed 1565

conn1ctmg elements m tne iac;aae ano pian 01 ;,. vwrg1u from actually clashing. In less assured hands, such a pre­carious union would break apart. A more generally ap­plicable solution was evolved just at that time in Rome by Vignola and by Giacomo della Porta, two architects who had assisted Michelangelo at St. Peter's and were still using his architectural vocabulary. The church of II Gesu (Jesus), a building whose importance for subsequent church architecture can hardly be exaggerated, is the mother church of the Jesuits; its design must have been closely supervised so as to conform to the aims of the militant new order. We may thus view it as the archi­tectural embodiment of the spirit of the Counter Refor­mation. The planning stage of the structure began in 1550 (Michelangelo himself once promised a design, but appar­ently never furnished it); the present ground plan, by Vignola, was adopted in I 568 (fig. 595). It contrasts in al­most every possible respect with Palladio's S. Giorgio: a basilica, strikingly compact, dominated by its mighty nave. The aisles have been replaced by chapels, thus "herding" the congregation quite literally into one large, hall-like space directly in view of the altar; the attention of this "audience" is positively directed toward altar and pulpit, as our view of the interior (fig. 597) confirms. (The painting shows bow the church would look from the street if the center part of the fa9ade were removed; for the later, High Baroque decoration of the nave vault, see fig. 629.) We also see here an unexpected feature which the ground plan cannot show: the dramatic contrast be-

594. Plan of S. Giorgio Maggiore

MANNERISM / 457

595, GIACOMO VIGNOLA. Plan of Il Gesu, Rome. 1568

597, ANDREA SACCHI and JAN MIEL. Urban VIII Visiting II GesU. 1639-41. National Gallery, Rome

458 / MANNERISM

596. GIACOMO DELLA PORTA. Fa9ade of II Gesu, Rome. c. 1575-84

tween the dim illumination in the nave and the abundant light beyond, in the eastern part of the church, supplied by the large windows in the drum of the dome. Light has been consciously exploited for its expressive possibilities -a novel device, "theatrical" in the best sense-to give II Gesu a stronger emotional focus than we have yet found in a church interior.

Despite its great originality, the plan of II Gesu is not entirely without precedent (see fig. 521). The fa9ade, by Giacomo della Porta, is as bold as the plan, although it, too, can be traced back to earlier sources (fig. 596). The paired pilasters and broken architrave of the lower story are clearly derived from Michelangelo's design for the ex­terior of St. Peter's ( compare fig. 565). In the upper story the same pattern recurs on a somewhat smaller scale, with four instead of six pairs of supports; the difference in width is bridged by two scroll-shaped buttresses. A large pediment crowns the fa9ade, which retains the classic proportions of Renaissance architecture (the height equals the width). What is fundamentally new here is the very element that was missing in the fa9ade of S. Giorgio: the integration of all the parts into one whole. Giacomo della Porta, freed from classicistic scruples by his allegiance to Michelangelo, gave the same vertical rhythm to both stories of the fa9ade; this rhythm is obeyed by all the horizontal members (note the broken

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portal: its double frame-two pediments resting on cou­pled pilasters and columns-projects beyond the rest of the fa9ade and gives strong focus to the entire design. Not since Gothic architecture has the entrance to a church received such a dramatic concentration of features, at­tracting the attention of the beholder outside the building much as the concentrated light beneath the dome chan­nels that of the worshiper inside.

What are we to call the style of II Gesu? Obviously, it

ent phases of the great master's career: the contrast be­tween the Uffizi and II Gesu is hardly less great than that between the vestibule of the Laurentian Library and the exterior of St. Peter's. If we label the Uffizi Mannerist, the same term will not serve us for II Gesu. As we shall see, the design of II Gesu will become basic to Baroque archi­tecture; by calling it "pre-Baroque," we suggest both its seminal importance for the future and its special place in relation to the past.

MANNERISM / 459

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HISTORIC SACRED PLACES - .' l tfaJ PHILADELPHIA I

ROGER W. MOSS //

PHOTOGRAPHS BY TOM CRANE

A BARRA FOUNDATION BOOK

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PRESS

PHILADELPHIA

• 1

SHRINE OF SAINT RITA OF CASCIA

1166 South Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19146

George I. Lovatt, and Ballinger and Perrot, architects, 1907-1915

Jelephone for visitor information: 215.546.8333

www.saintritashrine.org

The visitor intent on negotiating South Broad Street traffic could easily miss the

Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia. That would be attributable to the pace of twenty-first­

century life, not to the vigorous Baroque styling of this much beloved church. It

stands directly on the street, like its town house neighbors, and fully utilizes its mid­

block site. Yet there can be few churches in Philadelphia so Roman in their ambiance

and brilliance of execution. The exterior of Saint Rita's is all fa~ade, a triumphal arch

oflight-colored brick, limestone, and terra cotta with a large pedimented entrance

-· The Baroque fa,ade of the Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia on South Broad Street is one of the finest compositions by the young architect George I. Lovatt in collaboration with the finn of Ballinger and Perrot.

1 The National Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia with its reliquary in the lower church has recently been renovated and expanded to accommodate the large visitation of pilgrims from around the world who come to petition Saint Rita to inrercede in their behalf

supported by pairs of engaged Tuscan columns flanked by niches containing statues

of Saint Augustine on the ~nd Saint Patrick on th~he nave projects

above the ground floor entablature with paired pilasters supporting a segmental

pediment bracketed by two gigantic scrolls. 6

-/fY/ The church is named for Saint Rita ofCascii(fM-1457), known as the "Advo­

cate of the Hopeless and even of the Impossible" and one of the most popular saints

in the Roman Catholic Church "because of her amazing answers to prayer, as well as

the remarkable events of her own life." Cascia is a small town near Spoleto in

Umbria. Pope Leo XIII canonized this Augustinian nun in 1900, and the Augustini­

an Friars have established a shrine in her honor in the lower church.

Saint Rita's church and shrine were designed by George I. Lovatt (1872-1958),

who ranks with Edwin F. Durang and Henry Dagit among Philadelphia leaders in

late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Catholic church work. Lovatt studied

at the Pennsylvania Museum and School oflndustrial Art, opened an office in 1894,

and launched a successful career. He received a commendation for the Church of the

Most Precious Blood (Twenty-Sixth and Diamond Streets) at the International

Exhibition in Barcelona (1926), and a gold medal for his Church of the Holy Child

(Broad and Duncannon Streets) from the Philadelphia Chapter of the American

Institute of Architects (1930). Lovatt shares credit for Saint Rita's with the architec­

ture and engineering firm of Ballinger and Perrot (Walter F. Ballinger and Emiel G.

Perrot), who pioneered in the use of reinforced concrete.

Established as an Augustinian parish to serve a predominantly Irish congrega­

tion, the ethnicity of Saint Rita's gradually changed to Italian in the 1920s. In the fol­

lowing decades membership grew to 13,000 families, only to decline rapidly after

World War II to fewer than a thousand families today.

Ga«• The striking interior of Saint Rita"s reflects a major redecoration undertaken in the 1990s. The church and shrine to Saint Rita are visited by thousands of pilgrims annualfy,_ although the largely Italian American congregation is now smaller than in earlier decades.